Silver Blood
by Fxeni
Summary: There is always someone better. Evil knows this. And it does not tolerate mistakes.
1. Challenges

_"I TOLD you five of us weren't enough Katmir!"  
  
"Look, can this wait until later Xenif?"  
  
"Well, at least it's even odds..."  
  
"Sreaya, this would only be even if we were just as badass looking as they  
were..."  
  
"Regardless, Taelos...If it bleeds, I can kill it."  
  
"...What if it has silver blood?"  
  
"What?"  
  
"These guys are bleeding silver, Quanzirman"  
  
"Blood isn't supposed to act like that...is it?"  
  
"Xenif, move."  
  
"Erm....Why?"  
  
"The blood....it's moving towards you."  
  
"Oh, like a little bit of silver is gonn-....wha...? "  
  
"Xenif!"  
"Xenif!"  
"Xenif!"  
"Xenif, NO!"_

* * *

Fxeni sighed. He didn't like the prospect that he had a less than perfect team going against a more than perfect enemy. Hell, he didn't like the idea of going against a perfect enemy at all.  
  
"This place creeps me out." He said.  
  
"We can always use you as a human shield if things get bad." Smirked Takmir.  
  
"Except that he's probly too small to use as a soccer ball, much less a shield." Seryaa grinned as well.  
  
Daleth sniffed the air: "Actually, I'm going to have to agree with Fxeni here...Cerulean doesn't seem too happy about this place either..."  
  
"Nah, he doesn't like it cause it smells like dead tarus." Said Marzinquan.  
  
Fxeni continued along the corridor. "I hate you all." He mused.  
  
The group merely laughed, but it was a nervous laugh intended to fill the halls with something other than silence. While Fxeni did agree that the air was unpleasant, that was only because it had been stuck in this stupid castle for centuries. It was uncomfortable and musky, not evil. The walls of the castle, however...earlier on Fxeni had miscasted a spell, but when he missed and struck the wall, the walls merely bounced it around and then absorbed it. Most cement walls usually exploded or crumpled upon impact with magic, but these were cold to the touch and almost playful, although you wouldn't be able to tell. The castle was mainly nondescript, just big and gray. And filled with nasty beastmen.  
  
Speaking of which: "Another damn goblin." Daleth drew his Lance and immediately made a charge for the goblin's nose. He had a particular hate for them. Seryaa, Marzinquan, and Taea were shortly after him, with axes and fists in tow. Fxeni didn't even bother casting, it was a waste of his energy, and he was busy thinking.  
  
So the duchy of jueno had sent their group to fight the Shadowlord. He could live with that, the entire group enjoyed a challenge. It was the part about that they were being sent into the seventh circle of HELL just to get to him that bugged the Taru. He was sick of walking up stairs littered with skulls, trampling across beastmen that had decided to attack them, and worst of all, he was hungry. Tarus don't like being hungry.  
  
Marzinquan gave the Goblin's corpse a final kick for measure: "Bloody bugger, they never give up, and they never drop anything worthwhile."  
  
Fxeni shrugged. "I just like frying em with a spell or two, gives me a warm and fuzzy feeling inside."  
  
Takmir snorted, and kicked the goblin out of the way as he continued walking down the hall. In a place like this, nothing was funny. The jokes were to lighten the mood. But Fxeni felt that no matter how much joviality he had, it could do little to lift the mood they were all in.  
  
"I don't suppose any of you brought any pies? I'm starving..." His voice mellowed off as his stomach growled.  
  
No one noticed, because the entire group just happened upon a very large, spike en-laced black door.  
  
"The Throne Room, I assume?" Takmir sighed.  
  
"This door is nearly 20 feet tall. What exactly are we going against?" Seryaa stared at the black, grated door.  
  
No one answered. They already knew.  
  
"Ok, so...uhm....how do we open it?" Fxeni asked  
  
Taea glared at him. "YOU were supposed to get the key!"  
  
"What key?"  
  
"The Duchy in jueno? Remember, he said to get the key from Aldo!"  
  
"Really? ....I wasn't even listening."  
  
"Give me one good reason I shouldn't punt you like a football right now."  
  
"Uhm....Because I can do THIS."  
  
Fxeni gathered his energy into his hand, and a light red glow formed. Concentrating the glow into a fiery form, he imagined the fire burning the door to ash; imagined it burning into smoldering embers.  
  
He released the spell, and watched it hit the door...only to see it bounce off. Fxeni blinked.  
  
"I hate this place." He grimaced.  
  
Daleth walked up to the door and took a rough measure of it. "Did you actually try to see if it was already unlocked?" He pulled on the door, which slowly opened.  
  
Taea and Fxeni both went red, and then shrugged in unison.

* * *

"Home, sweet home..." Daleth looked around.  
  
Obviously this place wasn't very well kept. The room had an eerie red glow to it, (which he actually thought was pretty cool) but the ceiling, which was black, was littered with cobwebs, spider webs, dust, and what looked like a silvery sinew.  
  
In front of him, a small flight of steps lead down into the mainstay of the room, which had a red seal in the center. He had seen that seal before, when he had fought the dragon at Sand'Orias request. Beyond the seal was another small flight of steps, which lead up to a platform, which had a black tomb laying upon it. The tomb was enormous, nearly 12 feet in length, and Daleth knew exactly what it housed. There was something else too...behind the tomb, there was a curtain, and it was colored white. Someone before him had told daleth about this place, but they never mentioned the curtain. He shrugged it off.  
  
"Ok, here's the plan." Takmir motioned for everyone to gather close. "We go in there, find the Shadowlord, kick his butt, and leave."  
  
"Wow, is that all?" Seryaa grinned.  
  
"Well, actually, you might want to replace 'Kick his butt, and leave' with 'Get our butts kicked and die.'" Marzinquan groaned.  
  
Daleth looked at the others and rolled his eyes. "Your team spirit inspires me, Marz."  
  
Fxeni and Taea had already gone ahead to the tomb and were kicking it, poking it, throwing rocks at it, and trying to push it open.  
  
"Man, those two..." Daleth rushed to catch up. After walking up the steps to the tomb, he worked with the other to try and get it open as well. After a quarter of an hour of grunting and wasting energy, they all sat down on the steps.  
  
Fxeni started fidgeting with his cloak. He was eager to get started. "Ok...so now what?" he asked.  
  
Daleth ignored him. "God, how do you OPEN that thing!?"  
  
"All you had to do was ask"  
  
The six of them whipped around to the large, booming voice, which emanated from the tomb. Taea drew her Axe, Marzinquan and Seryaa put on their knuckles, Fxeni started focusing his energy, Takmir readied his sword, and Daleth called his Wyvern to his side.  
  
"I suppose you already know who I am."  
  
The tomb's top slowly moved to the side, and a light, wispy cold fog emanated from the opening, prohibiting any sight to pierce its layer.  
  
"I certainly know who YOU are."  
  
The top fell with a loud crash to the side near the white curtains, and the fog finally dissipated.  
  
"Taea, the Elvaan; Fxeni, the Taru; Marzinquan, the Hume; Seryaa, the Mithra; and Takmir, the Galka."  
  
The Shadowlord rose out of his tomb like a scene from a vampire movie. He was very large, nearly 10 feet tall (if not more), wore Black armor, and had white eyes which weren't so much creepy as they were intimidating. His eyes suddenly flashed a black color as they focused on Daleth.  
  
"Who are you?" The Shadowlord spoke without moving his mouth. It intimidated Daleth, but he tried to feign courage and hoped he looked unmoved.  
  
"Daleth, the Elvaan." His voice dripped sarcasm.  
  
The Shadowlord took no notice. "Hmm....You have none of your ilk here, so why did you come?"  
  
"What are you talking about?"  
  
The Shadowlord merely shrugged. "Well, I suppose I shouldn't expect YOU to know." He gazed back at the other aforementioned members, and his eyes gleamed white again. He cocked his head as he noticed they were just as confused as Daleth was.  
  
"NONE of you know?" He laughed. "Excellent! That makes the sport all the more fun!"  
  
"You may be big..." Fxeni said, "But we can still beat the crap out of you."  
  
"I have no doubt whatsoever you can. However, I'm not talking about MY sport."  
  
"Then what do you mean?"  
  
"Haha!" The Shadowlord merely laughed. "It will be self explanatory, and seeing your personality, I think you will be more than happy with it...now, let's begin!"  
  
The Shadowlord rose into the air and began rotating slowly, and started glowing gold. Daleth covered his eyes away from the blinding flash, and was forced to turn his head to the side to avoid the piercing light. In the process, he noticed the other members of the party weren't even slightly fazed by the glow. He tried once more to wince and look at the Shadowlord as he hung in the air, but the light was far too strong. The glow slowly dissipated, and Daleth looked to see that the Shadowlord was gone.  
  
"The others may be far too strong for me." A voice came from inside Daleth's head. "I know that your party is destined for this, and that evil has plans for them, so I cannot destroy you all. As for the one you, Daleth, well...I am not hindered by any such plans."  
  
Daleth spun around to find himself looking into the eyes of the Shadowlord who stood towering over him. The black demon's eyes gave off a black, enveloping kind of darkness, and before he could react, the Demon had knocked him flying and disappeared again before Daleth could even hit the wall.  
  
It was painful, but quick. The Shadowlord was waiting for him at the wall and caught Daleth by the throat, then drew a very large Black Axe and swung at the helpless Elvaan in his hands. Daleth, however, was trained in agility as a Dragoon, and swung his feet up in front of him so the Axe passed harmlessly beneath. As the air rushed by Daleth, he cried out to his Wyvern.  
  
"Cerulean, go for the eyes!" Daleth was beginning to see red from the lack of air. He managed to make out a blue form screech and swoop upon the Shadowlord, and Daleth was dropped to the ground. Seryaa ran up behind and picked up Daleth, and others in the party caught up and began to try and fight the Demon.  
  
"Are you all right?" Seryaa was obviously worried.  
  
"I've had better days." Daleth got up and rubbed his chin. After he focused, his ears picked up a large cry, and watched in horror as his Wyvern fly by him and hit the stairs, unconscious.  
  
"CERULEAN!!!" Daleth turned back to the Shadowlord, who had again disappeared. The other members were clueless as the Shadowlord refused to fight them and instead dodged their attacks. Daleth looked around the throne room and noticed a torch on the wall, which he picked up and held in his right hand, with his Lance in his right. He then ran to the stairs and stood with his back to the rest of the room, then closed his eyes.  
  
"If I can't find him, I will just have to force his own tricks upon himself..." Daleth formed a plan in his mind, and stood silent. The room grew quiet, and despite his basic instincts screaming at him to open his eyes, he stood calm and patient.  
  
He felt a ripple in the air and ran forward, dodging the Shadowlord's Axe, whom had just appeared behind him. Daleth put a foot on the bottom step of the stairs, and using it as a brace, pushed back and flew through the air around towards the middle of the room. In mid flight, he drew his lance, placed it before him with the point down, and effectively pierced the skull of the Demon as he flew over the Shadowlord.  
  
The Demon screamed in pain, but Daleth was not done. With his lance still in hand, he landed the flip and heaved his entire body's strength into his arms and used the lance as a lever to heave the Shadowlord across the room in a single, fluid motion. The air was silent for a moment, and then a shudder went through the castle as the Shadowlord landed on the other side of the room, dead.  
  
After the dust settled, Daleth stood up and sheathed his Lance, then immediately walked over to his Wyvern. He knelt in front of the poor creature, gave the respective sign of the holy crest of the Wyvern, and then stood up.  
  
Taea walked over. "He..." She bit her lower lip.  
  
Daleth walked away without answering. He tried to restrain his feelings as he headed for the exit, but Fxeni quickly interrupted his thoughts.  
  
"The curtain...is moving."  
  
Taking it for another one of the taru's lame jokes, he turned around with a fire in his eyes that quickly changed into embers. The curtains WERE moving. No, they were actually taking SHAPE.  
  
Daleth drew his already-bloodied Lance, and once again looked at the Shadowlord's body near the northern wall.  
  
It was still there. "So who's doing the magic trick with the curtains?" he thought.  
  
The curtains began to swirl, much like the Shadowlord did in the air. They did not shine like the Shadowlord did, but they did start to glow and change colors. A piece of the living cloth became black, and merged with a piece of the silver, which quickly changed to white, and then broke away and fell onto the ground in a puddle of molten metal. The rest of the curtain followed, eventually melding into a large, shining mirror-like surface that covered the floor.  
  
"It's almost like blood..." Daleth was beginning to feel frightened. His Lance could pierce skin and bone, not liquid.  
  
There was a flash, and a small piece of the puddle started to ripple, then shrunk into a smaller puddle, which started raising itself up into a form.  
  
"A Mithra?!" The entire group was stunned.  
  
The Mithra which had formed from the puddle had white skin and fur, and black armor on. She was beautiful, but the pale look of her made her looks an evil kind of fright rather than one of love. She merely stood there, dripping more of the liquid, when part of the black silver dripped into her hand and formed a shape of a one handed Axe. She wrapped her hands around the blade and beckoned to the rest of the curtain's remnants, which started to form in the same manner.  
  
"Oh...My...God...." Daleth was in shock as she saw that an Elvaan formed with the same pale skin and black armor from the second puddle of silver. His weapons were different from the Mithra however; he was equipped with a black shield and a black sword.  
  
Soon after, a Taru with a Black scythe the size of his body appeared as well. His pale skin was shaded by a black wizard's hat, and...  
  
"He's floating!" Taea screamed.  
  
Daleth stared; the Taru was simply hanging in the air without any sign of strain at all. Master wizards had been able to levitate themselves before, but it required insane concentration and energy. This Taru didn't even seem to notice that he wasn't on the ground.  
  
Soon after, Daleth watched as the fourth puddle grow and grow until it was absolutely enormous, which then solidified into a Galka with Black armor and a Black Samurai's sword. When he became solid form, he stepped forward, picked up the limp Cerulean, and placed a single finger upon the wyvern's nose. The dead wyvern began to float, and opened his eyes. Daleth was almost ecstatic with happiness and started running to the wyvern, but was stopped when he saw Cerulean open his eyes. They had turned silver, and Cerulean was growing larger and turning white. Daleth's eyes filled with tears as he saw that his wyvern was no longer the friend he knew him to be.  
  
Daleth was too focused on his lost pet to notice the final piece of the melted curtain take form into a Hume, which grew more black armor and pale skin. His two arms soon grew two black, crooked swords with runes engraved on them, and the Hume clashed them together in a large penetrating noise, which was emanated a thousand times over by the castle.  
  
Meanwhile, Daleth's group stood agape, but poised for action. Daleth set his jaw and stepped forward, but his voice shook as he spoke.  
  
"Who are you?" The five white warriors merely stared. "What do you want!?" Daleth started screaming. "Answer me!! ANSWER ME!!"  
  
The five of them smiled in unison, which shook Daleth to the core. His anger finally overtook his fright, and he charged for the Galka. In a single, fluid motion, the Galka jumped into the air, placed his foot on the ceiling, and pushed down to meet Daleth with his sword. Daleth was going far too fast to change direction in mid-run, but he managed to roll out of the way, jump back, and lightly slash the galka across the wrist. The Galka seemed unfazed, and immediately leaped back onto the stairs where the other pale warriors stood, but Daleth noticed his attack had done some damage. The Galka had a light bit of silver dripping from the wound.  
  
"Silver blood?" Daleth murmured to himself. He took a deep breath, gave a shout, and the battle began. 

_**Author's Note**: The "Pale Warriors" I mention in this story are actual bosses in Final Fantasy-11; known as the Ark Angels. I made up the way they appear and how they fight, however I did describe them like they appear in the game. If you wish to see screenshots, go to Allakhazam.com, click the pop up menu in the upper left, go to ffxi, scroll down to the beastiary on the left, click "By Family" and click "Special" under the right column. (whew) You can find their pictures by clicking any of their names there. (Courtesy of Allakhzam.com)_


	2. Corruption

Marzinquan stood alone against the double-sword equipped Hume; in mid- battle Daleth had shouted for each of them to take one on one. He drew his Knuckles and gave a grin to the nearly identical looking Hume.  
  
"Ya know, if you didn't look like the undead, you might be good looking." The Hume stared at him, waiting for Marzinquan to make a move. Marzinquan's grin turned into a frown, and he continued: "No sense of humor? Bah, I hate people like that."  
  
He pumped his legs forward and charged the pale Hume, but the white warrior was ready for him as it jumped into the air while Marzinquan passed harmlessly beneath. The pale Hume proceeded to switch his blades around to the front, and sliced at Marzinquan as he fell back to the ground. Marzinquan dodged to the side, grabbed the Hume by the leg, pulled him around and proceeded to smack him right on the face. The Hume was stunned, but his eyes focused on Marzinquan with hatred housed in them, and he countered with a knee to Marzinquan's stomach.  
  
Marzinquan fell forward onto his knees as the Hume back flipped away. He gritted his teeth as he tried to concentrate through the pain. The Hume made a final back flip and landed on the wall, and pressed back, swords out; seeking to smote his enemy upon them.  
  
Marzinquan was far too out of breath to jump or run, so he ducked instead and kicked up with his legs as the Hume passed above him. Landing the blow on the Humes stomach, he used all his strength to push him away. The Hume dropped one of his swords from the shock, but landed upon his feet across the room unharmed, but also partially unarmed.  
  
The monk got to his feet and took a quick measure of the other's situation while he had the Hume at bay. Fxeni seemed to be trying to dodge the pale Taru's Scythe at the same time he was trying to cast spells, Taea was attempting to break through the Elvaan's shield as she punched, Takmir was in a feat of strength by crossing Axe with Sword against the Galka, Seryaa seemed to be winning by using the Mithra's weapon against her, and Daleth was attempting to help the others all out.  
  
Marzinquan turned back to face the Hume. "I could use some of that help." He smirked, and then stared as the Hume disappeared entirely from his sight right in front of him. "Dammit! Come out and fight!" Marzinquan scanned the room with his eyes, not seeing anything except the others fighting, and tried to listen for the Hume, but couldn't focus due to the sounds of the others fighting. Trying to form a plan, he stumbled over to pick up the Hume's dropped sword, and swung wildly at the air, hoping to hit something. He turned around to see the Hume flying straight at him, sword poised to impale Daleth on its black blade.  
  
Marzinquan, with no other choice, was forced to make the ultimate sacrifice. He readied the sword in his right hand, took the blow from the Hume's attack, and growled at the Hume in his face as he took the other sword and shoved it right through the Hume's throat, into his chin and out the skull.  
  
The pale Hume opened his mouth as if he meant to scream, but the only thing that came out was a silver blood, which started spurting from his entire body. As the Hume started to dissipate into a liquid, a shimmering form rose from the liquid, which rose to the ceiling and passed through it.  
  
Marzinquan felt the sword that was stuck through his stomach, and fell over, closing his eyes. Red covered his hands, and Marzinquan knew he was dying. He closed his eyes and listened for a few moments as the others defeated the pale warriors in their own fashion, then heard their footsteps approach him. "Marz...." Seryaa turned away and covered her face. Taea, Takmir, and Fxeni stood watching him with expressionless faces, and Daleth sheathed his spear and knelt down next to the dying monk.  
  
"You've done something which I will see is remembered. Thank you for everything Marzinquan. May you go with Altana..." Daleth tried to hold back his tears.  
  
However, the dying monk was not paying attention. The dripping remnants of the pale started to shimmer and pulsate. He tried to open his mouth to cry to the others, but the only thing that came out was a low, breathless, moan. Feeling helpless and defeated, he lay his head down and merely watched in horror as the puddle started expanding toward the others and him. Marzinquan merely closed his eyes when the silver grew into a wave and shadowed them all.

* * *

Focusing her sights on the enemy in front of her, Kidria stood deathly still and continued to stare into the other's eyes.  
  
"I will win this...I refuse to be dethroned by YOU." She was breathing heavily, but her enemy merely chuckled. Kidira cocked her head and crossed her arms, but it wasn't long before she could not take the anguish anymore.  
  
She blinked.  
  
"Oh DAMMIT!!!!!!!" She stood up and grabbed her hair and started spinning in a circle, crying vulgar phrases and cussing out the entire world of Vanadeil. "How could I lose to my own sister!?"  
  
Celos stood up, put her hands on her hips, and laughed. "Kidria, I always win at staring contests. You were destined to lose from the beginning."  
  
Kidria stamped her feet and the ground, crossed her arms, and gave Celos a demeaning look. "Well, gee, thanks for not rubbing it in or anything." Kidria sighed and plopped down on the grass in disgust.  
  
Celos remained standing up and looked at the sky: "Where are Daleth and the others, I wonder?" She asked.  
  
The young Elvaan plucked a piece of the grass and threw it down to the ground. "Maybe they got lost. I wouldn't be surprised, Taea was in the group, after all." She grinned and plucked another piece of the foliage.  
  
Her older sister shrugged. "Well, the trip may be a big one, but they've been gone a full day. Fxeni had warp, after all, he would have brought them back a long time ago."  
  
Kidria looked up. "Ya know, Fxeni never DID pick up that key from Aldo." She pulled the golden, rusted key out of her pocket.  
  
Celos glanced at her and chuckled. "Typical Taru behavior. The only thing they care about is pie and singing."  
  
"And panicking" Kidria commented.  
  
Celos nodded. "Yes, and panicking..." her voice trailed off as she watched a group of people near the Eastern Ronfaure gate gather into a small circle. "What the hell...?" She gestured to Kidria to get up and pointed. "Over there..."  
  
After trying to stand on her tiptoes to get a better view, Kidria slouched over again. "Maybe there's a fight...I wanna see!" her voice reached a high- pitched squeal with excitement, but Celos remained serious, and started pacing over to the group. As the two of them approached, Kidria overheard the group talking, but only recognized certain chunks of the conversation.  
  
"He keeps mumbling something about white faces..."  
  
"Silver blood? What the hell?"  
  
"Look at him! He's covered in..."  
  
Suddenly, Kidria's long ears picked up a cry. Celos was screaming.  
  
"DALETH!!!!!!!!!!" she cried, and rushed forward  
  
Daleth broke out of the group; his eyes were wide and he was covered with red blood. His Lance was snapped in two, his jaw hung lack, and he had a bit of silver covering various parts of his body. He was stabbed and bruised in several places, as well as limping in the right leg. Both eyes had been blackened, and dents were all over his armor. Cerulean was nowhere to be seen.  
  
He limped over towards Celos and collapsed in her arms. Kidria ran over and tried to hold Daleth up and bit her lower lip to stifle herself from screaming. After breathing heavily for several moments, Daleth slowly looked up into Celos' eyes.  
  
"Not.....blood....." He gasped, dropped his head, and collapsed. 


	3. Recovery

The duchy of Jueno looked displeased. He stroked his chin and looked up at Celos and Kidria.  
  
"Only one of six came back? Pitiful, I thought they were strong enough to handle this challenge easily. Even the only one who came back looks like death himself." He shook his head and Tsk-tsked. "Obviously, this is not an enemy for the weak."  
  
Celos' eyes, burning with rage, met with the Duchy's, and she clenched her fists in self-protest. "This was not a challenge. It was a massacre." Despite herself, she was trembling.  
  
The gray-haired Duchy bellowed a laugh. "So be it." He focused his intense, gray eyes on Celos' blue ones. "Regardless, they failed my request, and the only reason THIS one is still alive." he pointed to the sleeping Daleth. "Is because he ran like the coward he is."  
  
It was Kidria's turn to be angry. "Get out. Get out get out getoutgetoutGetOut!" She started walking toward the Duchy and placed a hand on the hilt of her sword, but was stopped by the feeling of two cold blades around her neck.  
  
"Watch it deary." The Duchy gestured to his two guards. "At least THESE men proved themselves worthy in other ways. You are lucky I don't let them kill you; I've done men in for less than your insolence. However, you ARE young..." he sneered. "And I do not believe in harming children. We will leave, but only at my own discretion, not YOURS."  
  
Kidria tried to control her anger as she watched the Grey-haired Elvaan open the door and leave with his guards. After he was out the door, she spit on where he was standing a moment before.  
  
"Scum like him doesn't deserve to walk this land." She cried aloud. She turned her head to the side and looked at Daleth, and closed her eyes as tears fell off her cheeks. After listening to his breathing for a few moments, Kidria looked up at Celos, who was examining Daleth's armor. She wiped a bit of the liquid silver off of the embroidery, sniffed it, and threw it down to the ground in disgust.  
  
"Yech, it smells like something died in it." She wiped the rest of the dented armor clean with a cloth, put it on the table nearby, and turned back to Daleth to watch him as she talked.  
  
"Not Blood, eh? Hmm...that was most definitely his own blood that he was covered in when he came back."  
  
Kidria nodded. "He was almost painted with it."  
  
Celos bent over and focused on a small indent on Daleth's armor.  
  
"Look here." she said "There's a marking engraved on his armor by some sort of sword or scythe."  
  
Kidria walked over and studied it, and responded: "It's not a marking, it's a name."  
  
Celos and Kidria looked at each other simultaneously.  
  
"Xenif? Who's that?" They asked in unison.  
  
"Fxeni? No! Seryaa? BACK! Why?! Oh my god, Takmir!? No, you cannot all?"  
  
Celos and Kidria whipped around to Daleth, who was sitting upright in bed, screaming hysterics and nonsensical phrases. They immediately jumped over and grabbed him by the arms, and tried to stifle his spasms.  
  
"Kidria, watch the legs, don't let him kick you!"  
  
"I'm trying."  
  
"Never mind the legs. Get the doctor. Quick!"  
  
Kidria burst out the door and immediately ran down the hall screaming for the doctor, and Celos turned back to Daleth, who was still babbling.  
  
"Not blood, Evil took power castle!"  
  
Celos shook his arm, and Daleth whirled around to face her, upon which his eyes grew even wider and he screamed. Celos was left with no choice, she took her hand, and slapped him squarely across the face. Daleth's eyes shrunk back to normal, and he slowly stopped shaking, although it did not dissipate entirely. At this time the doctor burst into the door with a syringe in hand and Kidria in tow, but Daleth was no longer screaming, only moaning softly and clutching his forehead in pain.  
  
"The others, and Cerulean." he mumbled.  
  
Celos shook his arm again for good measure. "Daleth. What happened? Are the others dead?" She gulped.  
  
Daleth shook his head. "No, not dead, but gone."  
  
"Gone? Where did they go? Were they taken?"  
  
"Not taken."  
  
"Captured?"  
  
"Nor captured."  
  
"Then WHAT?!" Celos was screaming and shaking Daleth again in hysterics.  
  
Daleth took his hand off his forehead and slowly gazed up at the ceiling.  
  
"They've become replacements." 


	4. Revelations

"It was Taea who screamed first." Daleth explained. Kidria, Celos, the doctor, and him had all gone to the Jueno Library; Daleth had rushed out of the room earlier saying they had no time to heal his worthless injuries. He had said that "There were more important things." at which point he had mumbled under his breath. Still, the others had followed him, as Daleth absolutely refused to remain in bed.  
  
"We were all kneeling around Marzinquan at the time." He continued. "Now that I think about it, I did see Marzinquan give an odd expression just before he fainted. I didn't really realize it at the time, but he saw it before anybody else."  
  
"Saw what?" the doctor asked.  
  
Daleth ignored him. "Shortly after Taea screamed, her voice was shut off because the silver_ thing_ attacked her and covered her whole body. We were all too stunned to act or do anything. All we could do was watch as Taea's body was knocked to the floor by the silver and it choked and throttled her."  
  
"Oh god." Kidria's mouth was agape  
  
"However, a few seconds later, Taea stopped shaking, and the liquid basically evaporated. She looked dead, but upon closer inspection, I noticed she was still breathing lightly. Then, she started to change." Daleth's voice grew a disgusted kind of apprehension, and the rest of the group looked utterly confused.  
  
"Then the others were taken down as well. Four more of the _things_ went for Seryaa, Takmir, Fxeni, and even Marzinquan, in that order. They went through the exact same process, helplessly shaking and twitching as the liquid "played" with them. Again, they too went into a kind of coma after the liquid disappeared, but they were still alive as well. They started to change colors and grow in sizes and looks. In horror, I backed away into Taea, who was finally standing up again. She was Taea no longer however. She was pale, and her eyes were black"  
  
Daleth started shaking again, and Celos steadied him as he went on.  
  
"They all went white. And their armor changed black, and they dropped their weapons and grew new, darker, rune-engraved ones. It was the nightmare all over again, but this time with my own friends. They had become what we had just killed: The pale warriors. And shortly after they all got up, they attacked me. I stood no chance, and I didn't want to fight my own friends. They were even more powerful than the ones we had fought before. It was Déjà vu, a nightmare that didn't want to end. So I ran. As fast as I could. They continued to attack me until I exited the throne room, at which point they left me alone. All this:" he pointed to his bruises, bandages, cuts, and battered armor. "Was done in the period of about 30 seconds, by my own friends."  
  
"And what about the mark upon your chest plate? The one that said Xenif?" Celos inquired.  
  
Daleth gave her an odd look. "What mark? They were the only ones who left any marks in my armor."  
  
Seryaa studied the armor. "So you are saying, this name" She looked back at Daleth "was carved by the others as they attacked? Is that even possible?"  
  
Daleth shook his head. "I don't know. It's very likely. They were so strong, so powerful." he shuddered.  
  
The doctor looked at the others. "You've never heard the legend of Xenif?" The others just stared.  
  
"Well, here, I'll show you." He walked over to the nearby bookshelf, grabbed a tome off of it and brought it back. "The legend of Xenif and his party occurred in the very place Daleth was just at, only it was hundreds of years ago." He turned a few pages. "Ah, here we are." He pointed at the title.

* * *

**_ Evil's Tidings  
  
It is recorded that in Vanadeil year 662, a group of five adventures was sent by the Duke of Jueno to apprehend a particularly nasty monster that was housed in Castle Zvhal. As the creature was rumored to be so insanely powerful, one man or woman of each race was sent to represent his or her own kind in this enormous event. The Tarus sent Xenif; the Mithra Sreaya; the Elvaan Taelos; The Galka Katmir; and the Humes Quanzirman. The five of them met in Sandoria and left the gates headed for the castle encouraged  
by the sound of thousands of people cheering them on.  
  
They never returned.  
  
When several search parties were sent to find to lost crew, they disappeared as well. Eventually, the world of Vanadeil gave up on the five heroes, and forgot about them. However, it continued that whomsoever tried to find the heroes rarely returned, and when they did, they were more than often insane. The odd thing was that all of the men, women, and children who returned from the lost castle continued to mutter a mysterious, cryptic  
riddle until the day they died.  
  
It has been debated about what the riddle means for centuries, and to this  
day scholars continue arguing that they have found the answer to this puzzle. After going out to prove themselves, they disappeared as well or  
returned just as insane as those they sought to help.  
  
To this day Rumors continue to circulate that the evil that lived in that castle kills everyone who gets close enough, and drives the few who see it crazy. Others say Xenif and his party are ghosts whom often posses the lost travelers in anger of their lost respect. A final group claims that Xenif and his party still live in the castle to this day, and are stuck behind its walls, waiting for someone just as smart and brave as them to seek them  
out.  
  
The enigma spoken by the ones who returned without their insanity is as  
follows:  
  
"There is always someone better. Evil knows this. And it does not tolerate  
mistakes. So when it finds that one of its creations is a flaw, it effectively replaces it with the item or person who proved it imperfect. In doing so, Evil seeks out perfection, and the day it feels it has attained  
it; it will begin its plan of destroying Vanadeil,  
  
of Destroying the world."_**

* * *

The doctor slammed the book shut and looked over at Daleth, who had closed his eyes and was deep in thought.  
  
"They were all wrong." He said. "Xenif and his friends were never stuck behind its walls at all. They chose to remain behind because they had no wishes to leave. They found the enemy they were seeking, destroyed it, and in doing so, proved it imperfect." He sighed, and then continued. "So, evil replaced the flaws with its new ideal of perfection: Xenif, Taelos, Katmir, Sreaya, and Quanzirman. That was who we killed earlier on. And by doing so, we once again proved a flaw, and therefore became puppets much like Xenif and Co. did. Still, that does not explain why evil felt no use for me. But the Shadowlord KNEW about Taea, Seryaa, Takmir, Fxeni, and Marzinquan. He KNEW who they were and why they had come. So why...?" His voice trailed off  
  
Daleth thought back to the Shadowlord. His searched his mind, past the memory of Taea convulsing under a blanket of silver, past the heart wrenching scene of Marzinquan being impaled, past the time of when he had given final blessing for his lost wyvern, and back to the exact moment the Shadowlord had focused on Daleth himself.

* * *

_"Who are you?" The Shadowlord spoke without moving his mouth. It intimidated Daleth, but he tried to feign courage and hoped he looked unmoved.  
  
"Daleth, the Elvaan." His voice dripped sarcasm.  
  
The Shadowlord took no notice. "Hmm....You have none of your ilk here, so why did you come?"_

* * *

Daleth's eyes shot open and his jaw dropped. He whirled around to Celos in horror and stared at her as if she was dying right before his eyes, and then moaned.  
  
"You. It cannot be?"  
  
Celos gave him a quizzical look, and Daleth began to open his mouth in reply when the room started to shake. The Library bookcases started to sway, and bits of plaster began to fall from the ceiling. Daleth grabbed a nearby chair to steady himself, and listened as he heard women, children, and even grown men scream outside. Daleth looked back at the others who were all focused on him.  
  
"And so the nightmare begins anew." He said, and then smiled. 


	5. Recollections

"I can't attack my own friends, even if they aren't what they used to be!" Celos cried. The ground was still shaking, and the air was beginning to grow hot.  
  
"Celos, they are not what they used to be. They are no longer your friends, and to them you are merely another ant running from them. They can and will kill you if they see you, and they won't hesitate to destroy anything else in their way either." Daleth was very morbid in his thoughts, and he held no hope in his speech.  
  
He turned back around to Celos and continued: "We have no chance of killing them, much less saving them. We are powerless against their newfound strength, and there is no hope that You, Kidria and I will ever meet them face-to-face and survive."  
  
Kidria remained silent for a moment, then stood up and looked at the other two. A smile slowly spread across her mouth as she spoke. "You're right. You are absolutely right. That's why we're gonna have them fight themselves!"  
  
The other two looked at her like she was insane, but Kidria continued smiling and started pacing the bookshelves looking for something. As she continued to search, Daleth noticed the power of the shaking in the ground was beginning to intensify. "I remember it in school, when we studied the history of Vanadeil and the Beastman wars, which occurred twenty years ago." She found what she was looking for, ripped it off the shelf, and threw it towards Celos and Daleth.  
  
"What is this?" Daleth looked both ecstatic and utterly confused at the same time. The book was brown with lacing, but it held neither title nor author, and the pages were yellowed with age.  
  
Kidria nearly fell over from a particular large tremor, but grabbed a nearby railing. "It's a diary of one of the War Warlocks of Windurst who fought in the Beastman wars. It's highly revered as a great history of the war firsthand, but it also holds information on the great amounts of secrets discovered in the war. Look at the entry of _Vanadeil date 12/02/99_, and read it."  
  
Celos ripped the book from Daleth's hands, quickly flipped the pages until she found the correct date, and read aloud.

* * *

_**Vanadeil year 994, Second day of the last month of the year.**  
  
They call them Echoes.  
  
No one is entirely sure what exactly they are made of or where they are from, but the mirror they use for the procedure was discovered in a cave near Castle Zvhal. The mirror itself looks entirely normal; a dark green framing that entails a few nondescript runes, and a small little red jewel atop the frame, which changes color to a pale blue in the moonlight. It was brought back to Sandoria, and studied by scholars, whom hoped that it might be some secret weapon or such of the Shadowlord's. After deeming it useless, it was forgotten and given to some noble who thought it would make a nice furnishing.  
  
It was entirely an accident how it was discovered. Apparently this noble was killed in an invasion by the orcs, and in fact, much of the fighting of the invasion occurred in his very mansion. A few soldiers managed to barricade themselves in the room where the mirror was housed, as they stood no chance against the orc's incredible numbers. Many of the soldiers were wounded, and when the orcs finally tore the door to shreds and barged in, the soldiers fell very quickly. Their leader, a Galka by the name of Iron Forge, took out many orcs while at the same time protecting his men as he fought, but he was soon felled. Ironically, his death occurred right in front of the mirror which had been deemed useless, and the moment Iron Forge fell, the mirror started to glow and shimmer.  
  
Both the orcs and the soldiers stopped for a moment to watch the mirror, which began to pulsate and ripple. Eventually, it stopped moving entirely, until a very large flash filled the room and blinded everyone inside.  
  
When everyone had regained their senses and looked back at the mirror, they found Iron Forge standing in front of it, unharmed and ready for battle. Yet, he wasn't a fully opaque form. He still looked the same with the same armor, hair, and demeanor, but he was also slightly transparent, almost like a ghost. The soldiers also noticed, to their horror that their original leader still lay dead on the floor, yet standing in front of them as well.  
  
Shortly afterward, the new, ghost-like Iron Forge attacked the orcs in a wild frenzy; in the same manner he had done moments before, just before he died. The soldiers followed, and every time another man fell, the mirror resurrected him, once again in a ghostly form. Although the orcs did not stop killing, the men continued to pop out of the mirror, and in a few short moments the army of ghosts had torn the orcish army to shreds. Their was only one man who was left alive, and he watched as the others put down their weapons, close their eyes, and disappear into nothingness, with only their psychical corpses left behind.  
  
Half crying, half cheering, and with the mirror in tow, the lone soldier returned to his superiors and told them what had happened. Soon after the superiors had heard the whole tale, they deemed the soldier a traitor who had run and merely made the story up. Shortly after, a messenger entered the room and screamed that they were under attack. The lone soldier grabbed the mirror and ran to the battle, where several men, including their leader, an Elvaan by the name of Declaurde, had already been killed. The soldier placed the mirror in front of the dead men, and told his officers to watch. Once again, the mirror began to glow, shimmer, and ripple; then gave off a large flash and created the ghost like echoes of Declaurde and his men. In anger, an orc charged the soldier who had brought the mirror and impaled him upon his spear, and so it was never learned what the man's name was. He took it to his grave.  
  
Shortly after, Windurst, Sandoria, and Bastok began to squabble for control of the mirror, claiming they needed it the most. They eventually came to an agreement that these "Echoes" would only be used in emergencies, and only on heroes of the war. Since this mirror would be a dangerous tool in the hands of the enemy, they agreed it was **only** to be used in a matter of life or death.  
  
The echoes themselves have been studied in battle, and seem more able to take damage than their psychical counterparts before they fall. A few claim to have heard the Echoes speak, but not enough remain to prove it to be true. Furthermore, the mirror ONLY works on people who fall dead in front of it, and the echoes always disappear after their task is done. I myself believe them to be ghosts or souls, and I hope that I do not end up fighting an enemy echo on the battlefield.  
_

* * *

Celos snapped the book shut and looked up at Kidria, who had her fist on her chin as she talked. "It was a pity. The man who wrote this diary died later on in the war, in defending Windurst. He was a hero to the people, so he was called back by the mirror when it was brought into the battle, and he too disappeared after the enemy was destroyed. The mirror is still around today, and hangs in the Duke's hall, but it is under heavy guard, and I doubt they would let us have it." She sighed, took her hand off her chin, and grinned.  
  
"So, we'll just have to steal it!"

* * *

It was difficult running and trying not to topple over at the same time, as the shaking had only gotten worse. However, whatever was causing these tremors proved advantageous to Kidria, Celos, and Daleth, because when they arrived at the Duke's doors they found the area utterly devoid of life. There were no guards or bystanders; apparently Jueno had been evacuated and the Duke and his men were trying to fight off the attacker. It didn't take them long to find the mirror in his mansion, and soon they were all rushing outside, down for lower Jueno, where they would meet whomever was there face to face.  
  
What they actually found was destruction and death.  
  
Apparently, the Duke had indeed given orders for everyone to evacuate, but no one had managed to make it outside, they had been caught by the attacker and tossed like dolls around the streets. Soldiers, women, and children were scattered on the street, clad in their own blood, and sometimes in their own pieces. The duke and his highest guards were nowhere in sight, and the thing which had massacred the street was gone as well. Despite this, the ground was still shaking, and it was only getting stronger.  
  
Daleth put down the mirror and walked forward in horror, staring at the buildings as he went. Many had etchings of claws in them, and a few others had been neatly cut into pieces by some sort of blade.  
  
But worst of all, they were covered in silver.  
  
He turned back to Celos. "You must leave. You, by far, are in the greatest danger here. I do not expect you to understand, nor do I want you to. Kidria is no better off than you are, so take her along as well."  
  
Kidria started to protest, but was stopped by Daleth's glare. Celos simply refused to be shot down so easily, and charged forward and grabbed Daleth by the collar.  
  
"I don't care about any danger here to myself, I care about what happens to my friends. I will _**not**_ sit idly by as the ground shakes and I hang back wondering what is going on. I don't want my friends to get hurt!" Tears began to fall from her eyes.  
  
"That is why you must remain back. Despite its reason to believe so, this evil is still imperfect, and that is why you must remain behind. You...are its kin. Its family."  
  
Before she could reply, Daleth grabbed her by the arm and shoved her back into the alcove that separated upper from lower Jueno. With a stern look in his eyes, he gave her a final look of sorrow, and kicked the weakened support holding up the ceiling. Celos tried to dive forward, but the rocks were too quick. Dust choked the air, and soon nothing was left of the path between the two parts of Jueno. Kidria and Celos were kept apart from Daleth by a solid wall of broken rock.  
  
Daleth closed his eyes and turned away from the destroyed alcove. "She doesn't understand, and I do not have time to explain it to her. I am sorry, Celos."  
  
Sensing a ripple in the air, Daleth turned around and pulled out his Lance, only to find that the street was clear. All the bodies were gone. The streets were clean. The walls and buildings looked unblemished. Everything that had been wrecked just a moment before was now totally perfect.  
  
"What the hell?" Daleth slowly bent over and picked up the mirror, and walked out into the open. "This isn't right. What the hell is going on!?" Daleth began to panic, and then he heard voices. Human voices. Soon enough, people started walking out of the buildings, including Celos, Kidria, Taea, Fxeni, Marzinquan, Seryaa, and everyone else. Takmir was the only one who didn't seem to be present.  
  
Daleth was flustered with amazement and confusion, but he knew something wasn't right. Celos soon walked up to him, and gave him a smile.  
  
"It's all right Daleth. The others are fine. The evil is gone. And everyone is happy." Her voice was slightly monotonous, which only furthered Daleth's caution.  
  
"I'm sure they are." Daleth was acting sarcastic, but Celos didn't seem to notice. "What happened to the bodies? What happened to the wrecked buildings? And how did you get down here? I just blocked off the entrance!"  
  
Celos continued to smile. "It's all right Daleth. Just relax."  
  
Then Daleth saw the mirror starting to glow.  
  
He looked into its reflection to see the original street, with the dead bodies, the blood, and the demolished rubble. He looked back up from the reflection to see Celos still smiling at him, yet despite his eyes telling him that Celos was standing right in front of him, the mirror simply showed no one there at all.  
  
Daleth drew his lance, and despite his conscience, his senses, and his mind screaming at him not to do so, he did what was in his heart: He shoved the lance through Celos in a piercing thrust.  
  
And then it was gone. The street was again littered with bodies, blood, rubble, and wreckage. He eyed a silver flash in the sky, and soon a wyvern flew down and landed in front of Daleth's feet.  
  
"Cerulean." Daleth said.  
  
The wyvern gazed up at his former master, and without moving its mouth, spoke directly into Daleth's mind.  
  
"We do not appreciate your ungratefulness. We offered you exactly what you pictured in your mind, and yet you threw it away like a child's plaything, all for some pathetic ideal of loyalty?" It sneered at him. "In retribution, we will take your life, much like we took the others."  
  
The wyvern started to flap his wings, and soon was in the air soaring high over Daleth. As he watched, the wyvern perched atop a wall on the eastern side of the area, and screeched. As if he was called, a large Galka suddenly jumped atop the battlement and kneeled next to Cerulean. It gestured to the wyvern for a moment, then hopped down to the ground and drew its sword in front of Daleth. Its skin was white, and he wore black armor, and although he looked different, Daleth recognized him immediately.  
  
"Takmir." Daleth had a grim look on his face.  
  
The white Galka seemed to register a slight hint of recognition for a moment, but it was so brief Daleth was not sure he had really seen it. Daleth hoped for the best, and threw the mirror in front of him, holding it like a shield to hold off the offending former friend. He felt it pulsate and heat up as it worked, and then in horror, realized he wasn't reflecting his friend's dead body. He was not really alive per se, but he was most definitely not dead. So, what could possibly come out of the mirror...?  
  
As soon as he saw the flash and the mirror cool down, Daleth threw it aside to see a second, slightly shimmering, slightly transparent Galka standing in front of him. Although Daleth could not get a very good view of this new ally, it was most definitely not Takmir. The echo turned around to Daleth, took a good measure of the Elvaan holding the mirror, and spoke.  
  
"_My name is Katmir_." It said. 


	6. Redemption

Daleth watched the Echo before him as it talked. _"You, Daleth, killed me and my friends only hours ago... No, wait, you didn't kill us. You released us. But despite the fact that that thing of evil no longer controls us, we were not allowed into the gates of paradise. Xenif, Taelos, Sreaya, Quanzirman, and myself are stuck in purgatory. We have killed so many people in the last six hundred years that we were deemed an evil, despite the fact that we were not the ones killing. Evil was 'forcing' us to do so. You have no idea..."_ his voice faded, and he paused.  
  
Daleth merely stared, and although he tried to speak, his voice would not come to life.  
  
_"Once again, more people will be punished after death for crimes they did not commit: your friends. And so, it has been decided that the others and I shall atone for our crimes by killing the evil that spawned our hatred and theirs, while at the same time saving your friends. I will not allow this darkness to consume any more lives."_ The Echo drew his own, shadowy sword, and turned toward Takmir. _"This is memory re-lived."_ Daleth thought he heard it chuckle. _"And as such, I know his power. At one time, I wielded it as well. That vision he gave you...that is his strength. He can create fantastic visions that appear real to the one he uses them on. Daleth, beware of this power."_  
  
Katmir stood a mere ten feet in front of the white Takmir, and to Daleth's eyes, it was almost like a mirror's reflection. He pointed at the mirror and yelled at the Echo: "How can you come out of the mirror if only an Echo of Takmir is allowed to come out?"  
  
_"Because...I am Takmir. And Takmir is I. We are one in the same blood. The same goes for the others. Only Taelos has two souls."_  
  
"Then I was right. Celos..."  
  
_"Yes. Now, I must redeem myself!"_  
  
He charged Takmir and jumped into the air. Takmir was waiting for him, and as Katmir took to flight, Takmir followed. The two clashed swords in mid air, leaving a resonance that pierced Daleth's ears. Katmir twisted around in mid air and swung under Takmir's second attack, then kicked him to the ground in one fluid motion. Takmir was flung to the ground in a flurry of air, tumbling head over heel, but managed to land untouched on his feet. Katmir landed right in front of him, and the two clashed swords. There was a flurry of motion, and the ground began to shake once more. Daleth watched as Takmir bashed the Echo with the butt of his sword, then proceeded to grab him by the tail, and start spinning him around. After he gained some speed, Takmir let go and heaved the Echo across the arena. Katmir flew directly into an archway with broke into bits by the impact, but it also knocked Katmir back into awareness. When he approached the wall on the other side of Lower Jueno, he turned around, placed his feet on the wall, and pushed back. He shot like a missile back at Takmir, who wasn't quick enough to dodge. Katmir tackled the pale warrior and the two were sent tumbling over in a flurry of fists. Soon enough, Takmir was kicked off of Katmir, and the Echo got up and watched as Takmir recovered his footing and began to place a finger on his forehead. Takmir closed his eyes, and the air began to ripple, and then wave. Daleth tried to yell to the Echo, but found no air to scream with. He was choking; the air had been sucked away from him. When he tried to breath, he found nothing there to put in his lungs.  
  
_"Daleth. Listen to me. His power of hallucination works on the body, mind, and soul."_ Daleth tried to concentrate through the red. _"You must resist this one yourself, he is telling your mind there is no air to breath, and that you are choking, but in fact, nothing had changed. Steady yourself. Resist."  
_  
Half unconscious, Daleth told himself that there was oxygen in the air, and that he was breathing just fine. The air was there, only his perception was not. Soon enough, his mind cleared, and he was breathing normally, as though he had never been choked.  
  
Takmir watched Daleth get his air back, and after seeing his attempt at killing him fail, placed his other hand on his forehead once more and concentrated much like the first time. The air grew hot and stifling, but did not choke Daleth. Takmir took the hand off his forehead, and to Daleth, nothing looked different, except that the Echo looked absolutely horrified of Takmir now. Daleth watched in horror as Takmir walked up to Katmir, took his sword, and swiftly cut him into two pieces. After watching the Echo fall apart, Takmir walked over to the mirror, and shattered it by throwing it against a wall.  
  
"No. NO!" Daleth was stunned. All was lost? The mirror and the Echo, both were dead. Was there no hope now?  
  
Suddenly, the voice reappeared in Daleth's head.  
  
_"It is merely another illusion Daleth. Once again, you must resist it yourself. Nothing has changed. Tell yourself that."  
_  
Daleth nodded to himself, and closed his eyes, despite the fact that Takmir was walking toward him with the sword in hand. He told himself no hope was lost, and that both the Echo and mirror were still intact. When he opened his eyes, he once again found the Echo standing in front of Takmir with his sword out, and the mirror was back in a full piece.  
  
"Man, this is confusing as hell." Daleth was feeling rather sick.  
  
At this time, the pale Galka was obviously starting to get agitated. He placed both hands on his forehead and for a final time closed his eyes. This time Daleth felt no change in the air, and his vision remained the same.  
  
Then he noticed Takmir was shimmering, like a TV set that had not been very well focused. He suddenly turned a golden color, and promptly split into several different clones. Daleth found himself staring at nearly a dozen pale Galkas, all of which looked the same.  
  
Daleth calmed himself down. Obviously, this was merely another illusion...right? "Uh, Katmir, these aren't real right?"  
  
The Echo paused, and then spoke. _"Somewhat."_  
  
"What exactly do you mean, 'Somewhat'?"  
  
Again, the Echo hesitated, and continued. _"Only one of these Galkas you see in front of you is the real Takmir. But..."  
_  
"But WHAT?"  
  
_"Despite the fact that they are illusions, any one of them can kill you just as ably as the original."  
_  
"Oh, shit."  
  
The dozen pale Galkas suddenly jumped in several directions; most of them went for the Echo, and a few jumped out of sight, and one of them came directly for Daleth.  
  
"Shit! I can't attack him!"  
  
_"If you do not, he will kill you."_  
  
"He's my friend! Can't I just like, try to talk my differences out with him or something?!"  
  
_"You can try."_  
  
Daleth looked at the approaching mirage and tried to converse with it as it walked towards him. "Hey, Takmir, buddy....uh.....wanna go farm for silk threads?"  
  
Takmir kept walking.  
  
"Maybe we can go pick up some mithra chicks!" Daleth rolled his eyes at his own lame joke. (Mithra chicks? What the hell was I thinking?) he wondered in his mind.  
  
"Maybe we can go ki-" Daleth jumped back as Takmir swung at his torso. "Shit that was close! Dammit, sorry Takmir, I got no choice!"  
  
Daleth flipped back down onto the ground and met Takmir's sword with his lance. The two struggled for a moment, and then Daleth snapped over to the side and swung his left leg to trip one of the Takmirs. The pale Galka hopped up into the air, and placed his sword in a piercing motion as he rushed towards Daleth's head. Daleth rolled to the side, and found that the attacking Galka was gone. There was a screech in the air, and he looked up to see Cerulean flying toward him. Daleth readied his lance as the wyvern dived at him, but at the last moment, it pulled up, and flew behind Daleth onto a nearby roof of a house where Takmir was waiting for it. The two of them came off the roof and walked towards Daleth. Cerulean suddenly rushed forward and grabbed the lance out of Daleth's hand and flew off with it. Takmir continued walking towards him, and Daleth started backing away, totally unarmed.  
  
He turned back to see if the Echo was any better off, and found that it was fighting a hopeless battle against several of the clones/Takmirs. One of the Galkas rushed forward and smashed Katmir in the face, and while he was stunned, two of the Takmirs charged forward and slashed at the Echo. There was a moment of silence, and Katmir fell onto the ground, unconscious and bleeding. The remaining pale warriors put away their swords and started walking towards Daleth as well.  
  
Daleth knew he was going to die; he was unarmed and outnumbered. "I can't even go out with a fight!" He voice was meek and childish, but inside, he felt some strength left. He closed his eyes and listened as the dozen sets of footprints come closer, and then stop, only a few feet from Daleth.  
  
He opened his eyes to see all twelve of them with their swords raised high in the air ready to strike. Daleth sighed heavily, and gave a look at disgust at one of the pale Galkas.  
  
"Do you remember that you borrowed 20k gil from me a week before, Takmir?"  
  
Daleth summoned his strength and pushed it into his legs, and pushed himself away from the ground. He timed his flip to land behind one of the clones, and as soon as he landed, swung his left leg around him, tripped the clone, and grabbed the black sword that flew from the Galka's hand.  
  
"Well, sorry, but I'm gonna hafta stick around until I get it repaid."  
  
He put the sword out in front of him, and looked at the sword gleam. The Takmirs charged, and Daleth swung madly about him, dodging blows and slices and flipping back and forth attacking the others. He never actually got a hit off, the Galka's were far too quick, but he did exactly what he needed to do. Let the Echo recover.  
  
There was a large, heaving cry in the background, and two of the Clones were picked off the ground and slammed into each other's heads. They fell to the ground in a slump and vanished, and the remaining clones looked at the bleeding Echo that was breathing heavily standing before them.  
  
He rammed the nearest clone with his shoulder and followed it as it flew through the air and met it before it hit the wall. The Echo drew his sword and pierced Takmir through the heart, and it disappeared as well.  
  
In the meantime, Daleth jumped into the air and landed in the middle of the circle of Galkas. He uppercutted one of them into the air, rolled underneath, and slashed at its back. It gave a cry, and vanished. Daleth jumped back toward the Echo and stood next to it, sword poised and ready.  
  
The eight remaining pale Galkas stared at the two warriors in front of them breath heavily for a moment, then sheathed their swords. They stood silent for a moment, and seven of them vanished, leaving the real Takmir behind, who was scowling  
  
And he was pissed.  
  
Daleth didn't even see it coming. Before he knew what was happening, he found the Echo next to him had been knocked into the air, slashed by an unseen force, punched in the air by a flurry of fists, and thrown into the wall. Daleth blinked. It all happened in about half a second, and Takmir was standing back in front of him once more. He gave another angry look, and was gone.  
  
Daleth looked wildly about the street, and found nothing there except the dead bodies. There was a flash of wind, and Daleth was in the air and flying toward a wall before he had even known it. With a slam, he hit the wall face first, gave a cry, and was slashed in the back by a sharp blade. He slumped to the ground, was picked up by the back of the neck, and thrown once more, this time straight up into the air.  
  
Feeling helpless as he accelerated upwards, Daleth gave a moan, and then felt several more cuts rip across his body. The blade was so sharp he felt no pain, but he realized blood was quickly being excavated from his body. He was dying.  
  
Once more a hand grabbed Daleth by the neck, and he was heaved toward the ground. Daleth crashed into the ground with a large cracking noise and a snap, and found that he could barely move his fingers and eyes, but not the rest of his body.  
  
He looked up to see the sun blotted up by a large, black figure with a white face. Daleth clenched his eyes and teeth and pain, and heard a sword smack the pavement next to his fingers. He rolled his head to see the Echo's sword next to his fingers.  
  
_"Daleth. Use it."_  
  
Daleth struggled to grasp his fingers around the sword, and met Takmir's sword with the Echo's. He fought against the force of Takmir's strength, and found he was losing, and Takmir's sword was drawing close to his throat.  
  
Then the sword in Daleth's began to shine.  
  
It was faint, at first, a pale blue glow. It grew into a golden light, and soon became a feel blown explosion of white light. Daleth felt warmth in his body, and he got up, sword in hand, to see that Takmir was blinded by the light.  
  
_"NOW DALETH."_ The voice seemed to be having trouble speaking.

Daleth stared at the shining sword in his hand for a second, turned it around, and impaled Takmir squarely upon the heart. The Galka gave a cry, and then turned the same color as the sword in Daleth's hand.  
  
_"Run..."_ The voice was fading, and Daleth knew the Echo was dying.  
  
Daleth turned on his heals, and hauled ass. He ran as fast as he could towards the nearest undamaged building and felt his back start to get scorched by an incredible heat. He looked back to see that Takmir was exploding with a red light, and it was filling the street with heat. Daleth dove into the building just as the explosion reached him, and covered his head from the falling rocks from the ceiling as the ground shook from the power of the light.  
  
Then it grew silent, and Daleth walked into the street, finding it utterly demolished. Rubble was all the remained of the structures and walls, and Daleth limped over towards the mirror, which seemed untouched, and picked it up. He glanced over at the sword, which was now black and shimmering, and lying next to a Galka. He looked back at where the Echo had been knocked into the wall, only to find it gone.  
  
_"The sword left behind houses the soul of the thing, which corrupted your friend, and must never be touched by anyone except you. That is who you are Daleth: the Carrier. You must keep this accursed weapon away from mortal hands, because it will reinstate the evil we stopped here today should anyone touch it save you. Keep it hidden, now and forever. However, your task is not done. Four more are left, and you must do the same there as you have done here. However, I wish to thank you, my friend. I have attained my redemption, and may now enter eternity. When you see my friends, tell them that I miss them and eagerly await their arrival. We shall be friends once more in the afterlife. Thank You, Daleth."_ The voice faded away with the wind, and Daleth felt a presence leave with a brush of wind.  
  
"No." Daleth said. "Thank you, Katmir. Rest in peace."  
  
And he was left alone with the steady breathing of Takmir.


	7. Seclusion

_"I do not feel that we are truly as one yet. It would seem we made a pre- emptive strike. We are still imperfect. Because of your eagerness, we have lost one. However, they were too foolish to kill him. He can be reclaimed."  
  
"There was no clue that Taelos had such. It is difficult to follow the outside world from our prison. You were just as eager as me."  
  
"That may be true, but I did not act upon it."  
  
"This can wait until later. It would seem the carrier is coming once again, with Truth."  
  
"His power is insignificant, and yet with that mirror he holds a weapon that is strength beyond his comprehension. He will be coming for one of us next."  
  
"I volunteer. I may be small, but my scythe will leave as nothing more than several pieces of bloody flesh. Any who meet my magic will find themselves utterly dissolved."  
  
"No, not you. The carrier cares for one of our hosts, and his incompetent feelings of strength and loyalty will be his undoing. Thus, we must let her take care of it."  
  
"Oh, a challenge? How invigorating."  
  
"It may be invigorating, but don't hesitate to kill him. Even if someone after him takes up Truth, as long as he is dead, someone else will reclaim the weapon and we will remain immortal. No mistakes like the one before did, Taea."  
  
"I shall leave him in pieces."_

* * *

Celos bit her fingernails as she looked at the wall of rock in front of her. Kidria remained silent at her side, and held little expression on her face. The thought of Daleth inside with a former friend that wanted to kill him seemed overbearing. Furthermore, the ground had stopped rumbling nearly an hour ago, and there was no sign of Daleth.  
  
Celos stood there for a moment, and Kidria watched her stare into nothingness, obviously lost in though. She finally stamped her foot, and shouted to no one in particular.  
  
"What the hell is going on in there?! This is boring as hell! Daleth is getting all the fun! If this ends up as a story in the history books, I don't want MY part to be 'While Daleth fought for the safety of the entire world, Celos stared at some broken rocks.' LET ME OUT!" She kicked the wall and shrieked in pain as she grabbed her foot, which she had just sprung from the impact.  
  
Kidria sighed. "Would you prefer 'She stared at some broken rocks and yelled at no one in particular.'? Because that's all you are really doing. Seriously, if you want to do something, let's quit standing around."  
  
Celos crossed her arms and glared at her little sister. "I suppose YOU have an idea?!"  
  
Kidria stared at her angry sister for a moment, and perked up.  
  
"Fireworks."  
  
"What?"  
  
"You know those utterly useless fireworks we got from the Moogles the other day?"  
  
"How could I forget? You tried to light them in our house."  
  
"Well...maybe we can grab a bunch of em from our moghouse up here, and..."  
  
Celos paused for her moment and cocked her head at the little Elvaan. "You know, you get more like me every day." She gave an evil grin. "I'll go grab some matches and gasoline!"

* * *

Twenty minutes later, Kidria hid behind the corner as Celos bent over the group of a hundred or so fireworks they had stuck in the rocks, and tried to light the fuse on one of them. As soon as it sparked, Celos turned around and dove out of the way as the hallway shook with a force that knocked the two sisters senseless. Sparks, fire, blue blazes, and all kinds of explosions flew out from the corridor as the two covered their ears from the shockwave. The air filled with a rainbow of colors, blue, black, green, yellow, brown, and even purple. The explosions stopped a moment later, and Kidria and Celos glanced around the corner.  
  
The entire hall and everything in it had been scorched black as night, but the rocks remained. Celos got up and growled at the stubborn wall of rocks, which refused to budge.  
  
"Man, all that, and the rocks didn't even flinch."  
  
Kidria gave the scorched hallway an odd, quizzical, confused look. "Ya know, that's odd, the big one didn't go off?"  
  
Celos slowly turned towards her sister and asked: "Uh....what big one?"  
  
"Well, it was green, and rocket shaped, and was the pride of my collection. It was about yea big." Kidria made a motion with her hands to show a box like motion about two feet long and about eight inches wide. "I thought it would make a bigger boom that that." She shrugged.  
  
Celos' eyes got very big, very quickly. "Oh, shit!" She noticed a spark come from the pile of rocks.  
  
She barely dove to the side of the hall before the entire area of Jueno was filled with a giant shockwave of sound, small rocks, and screams. The entire ground shook like it had been put in a blender and turned to max, and Celos and Kidria couldn't even hear their own screams from the blow. But just as soon as it had started, the rocking and debris stopped. Celos looked at both at her own hair and her sister's to see them utterly covered in dirt, rocks, scorched ash, and burnt remains of rock. Where once remained the column of rocks and part of the walls of the hall was nothing but a gaping hole. Kidria put her hands in the air and screamed a joyous, happy laugh.  
  
"That was FUN!" She seemed ecstatic.  
  
Celos merely looked at her like she was crazy.

* * *

Celos walked into Lower Jueno to find some sort of humongous heat had scorched the entire area and that it was even more messed up than before. Daleth was nowhere in sight, but the two of them noticed a black Galka lying on the ground breathing normally. The two of them jogged over to Takmir, and checked him for wounds, but there seemed to be none. He opened his eyes a little bit and looked at the two girls kneeling next to him.  
  
"So, I must be dead, and this is hell. See, there's Celos, and Kidria..." He coughed as he spoke, but that didn't stop the two of them from slapping him.  
  
"OUCH! I was just kidding..." Takmir winced, then looked back up at the two again. "Good to see I didn't kill you too."  
  
Celos remained silent, but Kidria shook Takmir as she spoke. "Where's Daleth? Is he dead? Did you kill him? Where did he go? Where's the mirror? What happened to the street?"  
  
Takmir summoned all his strength and reached up to close her mouth. "Please be quiet. I'm really not feeling well. But Daleth can tell you himself...he's at the Crawler's Nest." He let his hand fall back the ground and closed his eyes again.  
  
Celos spoke slowly but very strongly. "What the hell could he possibly want at the Crawler's Nest?"  
  
Takmir took a few breaths, and answered.  
  
"Taea." He said. "He's taken Truth with him."  
  
Celos gave Takmir a quizzical look "Who's truth?"  
  
Takmir gave a start as if a brick alongside the head had struck him, and then sighed a long deep breath before actually answering Celos.  
  
"Not a who. But a what." He was beginning to heave in his breathing.  
  
Celos' eyes grew wide and she began to get angry. "God damnit Takmir, I don't have time for riddles or tricks. Tell me what the hell is going on here!"  
  
The Galka watched Celos scream at him for a moment, but did not react. After a short time, he closed his eyes once more and lay his head down and spoke.  
  
"While I was one of them, the pale warriors, I was...taught things that are not even comprehendible in the mortal mind. This knowledge is scary to behold, and it involved you two, but even now it flees my mind, seeking its original home in the Silver. Daleth seems to think he knows what is going on, but only the Echo's and the Evil actually know what is at stake here, and who is in danger. There is no battle for the existence for the world. It is greater than that. Evil has two goals in its mind at the moment: one is to destroy Truth, and the other is to either capture you two, Kidria and Celos, or to hang your corpses from the walls. Do not let that happen."  
  
His head fell back to the ground and was silent. Despite Celos' attempt to continue shaking him for information, Takmir did not move nor stir. Kidria placed a hand on Celos shoulder, and gave her sister a knowing smile. The two of them nodded in quiet unison, then got up and jogged out of Jueno towards the Crawler's Nest, leaving Takmir to recover in peace.

* * *

"I want her alive, but if that is impossible, bring her to me in pieces. I don't care if you have to shoot her down, just bring her to me. No one pisses me off." The Duchy of Jueno attempted to shout over the ruckus caused by the shaking cave. "It sickens me to see that I mistook such a treasonous wench for a warrior of valued stature, and even gave her the honor of attempting to kill off the evil plaguing this land. I should have known that she would only come back to haunt me; she is nothing more than a child with a sword."  
  
Daleth entered the cave, still carrying the mirror, and since he was already limping, he found it hard to run, dodge the falling debris, and search for Taea all at once. He did pick up the sound of the Duchy earlier on, and had followed it here, where he found the gray haired Elvaan speaking to his men about someone he wanted dead.  
  
Taea.  
  
"We can't fight her! She barely twitched a hand and left five of my men dead! I will not fight for your grudges only to get killed!" One of the captains yelled right back into the Duke's face, and the Duchy did not seem too pleased about it.  
  
The Duchy watched the Captain start to leave, and as soon as his back was facing the Duke, the official promptly drew his sword and slew the Captain on the spot. His lifeless body fell to the ground, and the Duke kicked the corpse into the middle of the group of his men and sneered.  
  
"Disobedience, no loyalty, disrespect, and a lack of intelligence earned you that spot on the floor." He seemed to be talking to the corpse, and then turned back towards his men and gave them a condescending look. "Any more objections? No one leaves until I see the bitch's head on a stick."  
  
Daleth, seething with anger, charged forward and pushed his way through the men until he was face to face with the Duke, and spat in his face as he screamed. "Why the hell are you here? Why did you leave all those civilians to die, no, to be SLAUGHTERED and BUTCHERED in the streets in Jueno while you merely chased after this one with all your men?"  
  
The Duke turned towards his new adversary very slowly and gave him a hating look like an adult would give to a child who was covered in mud. "Ah, the coward returns from his beauty sleep, to try and restore a reputation by trying to act like a hero? On a better day, I would decapitate you on the spot, but I have other, more important matters to attend to at the moment. The only reason I am here in this godforsaken cave is because YOUR traitorous bitch that you call a 'friend' attacked me nearly an hour ago. That is an attempt on the life of an official, and punishable by death, so I have come to slit her throat."  
  
Daleth growled and moved his face in until he was mere inches from the Duke's pointy nose. "That 'bitch' has a name: Taea. If you so much as lay one slimy finger of yours on a lock of her hair, I will shove my lance through your neck and out your empty skull. That wouldn't be a 'suitable' death for a Duke, so I recommend you leave. Now."  
  
The Duke seemed surprised at such belligerence and blasphemy for a moment, but quickly recomposed himself and stared at Daleth for a moment. "First insults, then a death threat on a government official? That's treason." He gave Daleth an evil smile. "And punishable by death. Seize and bind him." The Duke stepped back and gestured to his guards, whom immediately pounced atop Daleth and tied his arms and legs together with rope. In a moment's time he was bound like an animal, and looking up at the Duke, who seemed to enjoy the sight.  
  
"A treasonous coward like you does not deserve a quick death, and I myself would enjoy to see you boiled alive or flayed to death, but time is of the essence, so I am forced to make this quick." He drew the sword from his sheath and pointed it directly at Daleth's head. "If you are so eager to see your bitch friend again, then you may meet her in Hell. Now, you die."  
  
The Duke raised his sword, and swung down at Daleth's neck. There was an array of sparks and a flash of blood in the air, and Daleth looked to see Taea kneeling right before him, with her head hung so that Daleth couldn't see her face. Her skin was incredibly pale, and her hair, which was once red, was now a dark brown, but still looked the same other than that. She was equipped with black armor, and held a black tower shield in one hand and a black sword in the other.  
  
The sword was dripping blood.  
  
Daleth looked farther up, beyond Taea, to see the Duke standing right behind her, gasping for breath, his sword still in his hand. His eyes were rolled into the back of his head, and he soon collapsed backwards, whereupon Daleth noticed a large, bleeding gash, right in his chest. He lay there for a moment, making sickening breathing noises and twitching in his blood, before Taea stood up, turned around, and with a fluid motion slit the Duke's throat with her sword.  
  
The Duchy stopped having spasms after a moment's time, and soon was still. The pool of blood around him seemed to reflect light onto his gleaming armor, and the guards who served the now dead Duke promptly turned on their heels and ran out of the cave.  
  
Daleth, still bound at the arms and legs, was left to watch Taea stand there, motionless, with red blood ever dripping from her sword. There came a cry from behind, and Daleth recognized Celos' and Kidria's voice, who soon burst into the room.  
  
Almost as if Taea had been waiting for them, she turned around and a glint formed in her eye. She raised her left arm holding the shield, and smashed the nearby wall with the shield so hard that the room began to crumple and the ground began to shake.  
  
Celos and Kidria immediately rushed forward to Daleth and began to untie him. Daleth, still watching Taea stare at them, tried to yell at them through the incredible noise.  
  
"Kidria, get the mirror! Forget about me for the moment and make sure the mirror doesn't get destroyed!" Kidria nodded to Daleth, and dove to his right, where the mirror lay resting upon its back. The shaking of the room grew louder and fiercer, and dust choked Kidria's senses as she dove into a nearby alcove and watched Celos drag Daleth away from the falling rocks. In less than a minute Kidria could not see anything due to the choking dust, but the shaking soon stopped and the air soon cleared.  
  
When she finally managed to see beyond the dust, Kidria viewed a large wall of rocks, much bigger than the one Daleth had left in Jueno, blocking the pathway out of the cave. Standing up and brushing herself clear, Kidria looked about the area and found she was trapped in a large round room with the mirror and no weapon. Celos and Daleth were nowhere in sight. Kidria hoped that the falling stones had not crushed them. However, Kidria soon forgot about Celos and Daleth, as another fear replaced the void in her mind.  
  
Taea, sword and shield still in hand, was standing in the middle of the room. She was smiling, and looking directly at the weaponless young Elvaan who was holding the mirror in the corner of the room. 


	8. Death

For a moment, all Kidria could do was stare at Taea's new features. She was so white, so pale, that she looked like a ghost. The hair on her head was no longer red, but a dark brown, almost black, and any evidence of her previous charismatic character seemed forgotten. Kidria was staring at a shell, a reflection, of the Taea she once knew, much like a photo negative with opposite colors. And because this wasn't the same Taea, Kidria knew there wasn't anything left to keep Taea from killing her.  
  
The white Elvaan started strutting towards Kidria, who had no weapon or shield on her bar the mirror Daleth had screamed at her to pick up. She had remembered the story of how the mirror worked, however, and hoped to god it wasn't broken as she held it out towards Taea.  
  
True enough to its job, the mirror began to pulsate and warm, and soon a flash enveloped Taea, who was walking towards it. Kidria put the mirror gently to the side, and stared at the new figure before her.  
  
An Echo. And it was an Elvaan.  
  
The Echo did not immediately say anything to Kidria, whom could not see its face. Instead, the Echo drew its sword and a large shield, and faced the oncoming Taea, who seemed bent on killing them both. Then it spoke.  
  
_"It is good to see that I fight alongside my own lineage. You do not know me, Kidria, but I know you. Sister of Celos, friend of Taea, but you are also more than that. However, explanations shall have to wait for another time."_  
  
"Who are you?" Kidria thought the Echo's voice sounded slightly familiar, but she dismissed it.  
  
_"My name is Taelos. An Elvaan of proud heritage and strength, which was put to Evil's use not so very long ago. I regret what...I did. But I did not know what it was. I was like a child, we all were; playing with a powerful weapon, not knowing it was causing the deaths of countless people. Now I return, damned as I am, to repay my debt of killing by saving an equal amount. I have come to save your sister."  
_  
Kidria cocked her head. "This isn't Celos. It's Taea."  
  
_"I know that."_  
  
"Then what did you mean, 'My sister'?"  
  
The Echo did not respond, but merely watched Taea approach. Kidria suddenly realized that the Echo's voice was most definitely familiar, but she couldn't place it. Where had she heard it?  
  
Her thoughts were interrupted by a clang, and Kidria looked up to see that Taea had swung right toward Kidria while she was distracted, but the Echo had saved her by blocking the blow with his own blade.  
  
_"Leave her alone. I refuse to let Kidria die while I still stand. If you want to continue with your plan of reestablishment, you will have to kill me first."_  
  
"Yah, and I won't let you get established either!" Kidria tried her best to look tough, but had no clue what the hell she was saying. She tried her best to whisper to the Echo as she talked. "Uh, establish what again?"  
  
_"The Carrier, known as Daleth to you, did not actually kill Takmir, whom is still alive. If the Silver can reclaim him, it will, and you will have to fight him anew. That is the establishment I speak of."_  
  
"So, wait...Takmir can become evil again?"  
  
_"Something like that."_  
  
"I'm sure as hell not gonna let that happen! I'll help you fight her off!" Kidria suddenly remembered she was unarmed. "Uhm, Mr. Echo, Taelos, sir? I, uh, left my sword at home."  
  
_"Good. That means you won't get in my way."_  
  
Kidria stuck her hands on her hips and pouted. "Hey! What the hell? I was trying to help!" She thought she saw the Echo smile, but if it was there, it flickered away in an instant, and quickly turned into a frown.  
  
_"Daleth knows about Celos. He knows who she is, and what she can become. However, he does not know about you. Evil knows about Celos as well, but not about you. You are not yet part of the balance, but in a short few years, you will be. Simply put, Kidria, you and Celos are part of a key. Two parts of three. And if that key is restored, the evil truly WILL be invincible. That is why I must take this fight. However, should I lose, you must run. Never let one of them catch you. The same applies for Celos."  
_  
Kidria looked helpless and shrugged. "I...I don't understand. A key? To what? How am I a part of a key?"  
  
_"You unlock potential. That is all. But that potential is so great, so important to evil and its plans. Haven't you wondered why my voice is so familiar? Or why Katmir sounds like Takmir? Or why I look like Celos?"_  
  
Kidria remained silent, but gave the Echo an inquiring look.  
  
_"It is unimportant now, but you will know soon enough. In the meantime, we must handle Taea's redemption. Do you see her shield?" He gestured toward the large, black, tower shield on Taea's left arm. "Each one of the five pale warriors has a power, a unique strength belonging to only them. Hers is that shield. As long as that shield remains intact and upon her arm, we cannot kill her. She is invincible."_  
  
"Shit, you mean we gotta kill the shield first?"  
  
_"That, or get it off her arm. One other thing. We are trapped in this cave, and the way out is on the other side of this wall of rocks. That means that the air in here is running out, and while neither Taea nor I breathe, you will soon run out of air. We are on a time limit, Kidria. And if we do not hurry, you will suffocate and perish."_  
  
The Echo drew a very cruel look upon his face, and charged Taea, who had been standing there listening to them the whole time. He lifted his sword into the air in mid charge, and met it with Taea's shield, which was waiting for it. There was a large blast of light, and Kidria found herself staring at a blur of motion. Large, metallic clangs continued to ring through the cave as sword met armor, and Kidria was left helpless all the while without a weapon. She looked helpless about the cave until she noticed a glint in the pile of rocks nearby, then ran over and pulled aside a rock until she found what the gleam was.  
  
A sword.  
  
She picked it up, and immediately noticed it was a regal sword, obviously meant for some high official. It was covered in jewels, glowing green emeralds and red rubies and blue sapphires. It was beautiful as it glinted in the sunlight.  
  
Wait a minute, Kidria thought. Sunlight? That meant...  
  
She turned around to the small ray of sun in the rocks and found a tiny hole in the wall, which appeared to lead outside. It was only a quarter inch wide, but it was enough to let a small ray of sun come inside.  
  
She turned back around to see Taelos and Taea locked in swords, and while the Echo was grunting and fighting back with all his strength, Taea seemed to be forcing him back with her own sword with little effort. She gave a heave, and the Echo flew across the room and into a wall. There was a smash and a few rocks fell from the ceiling, but it held. Taea strutted over to the Echo and picked him up by the neck collar and brandished her sword in front of her face. She drew back for a lunge, but the Echo pushed his feet behind him as a lever and forced himself like a missile into Taea, who was promptly pushed away. While she was still stunned, the Echo charged her and smashed her on the head with the butt of his sword, then kicked her legs out from underneath her, and swung down as she fell.  
  
Taea was far too fast to be caught twice, however, and met Taelos' sword with her shield. In the same motion, she swung the sword in her other hand around towards Taelos' legs and knocked him flat on the ground. Taelos tried to roll away as Taea thrusted her sword down at him, but he was too slow, and the sword pierced his shoulder and went into his flesh. He gave a cry, and Taea twisted the sword around in the wound for a moment before pulling it out. She immediately walked towards the mirror at Kidria's feet, but the young Elvaan stepped out to meet her and gave a shout as she swung her sword directly at Taea's skull, ending in a direct hit.  
  
However, the sword just bounced off, like Taea was made of metal.  
  
"Oh, shit. I forgot.... invincible." Kidria felt Taea's hand close around her neck, and she was lifted off the ground with her legs dangling in mid air. There was a cry from behind, and Taea dropped Kidria in shock to see Taelos standing behind her with his sword randomly swinging at various parts of her body. Taea stood there a moment and playfully watched his blows bounce off, the grabbed the sword with her free hand, turned it around, and rammed it through Taelos' chest.  
  
The Echo gave a piercing cry and collapsed on the floor with a shimmering liquid much like blood dripping from his wound. Taea let him fall, then once more headed for Kidria.  
  
Taea gave a downward strike, and Kidria dodged to the side, letting the blade bounce harmlessly off the wall. She noticed the air was beginning to get stuffy, and it was getting hard to breathe. Taea recoiled the blade and gave two horizontal swipes at Kidria, who bounced back from them, and then gave her own thrust. Taea jumped into the air and front flipped behind Kidria, who had accidentally overthrusted and stuck her sword in the wall. Without thinking, Kidria jumped onto the sword like a stepping block, did her own flip, and dodged Taea's attempt to impale her. She back flipped over Taea and landed squarely behind her, whereupon she charged the pale Elvaan and pushed her forward onto the butt of the sword stuck into the wall. The force of the blow knocked the wind out of Taea, which gave Kidria enough time to run over to the unconscious Taelos and pick up his sword. She looked back to see Taea had totally disappeared, but that the sword was still stuck in the wall. Kidria ran over and yanked it out of the wall with a large cry and turned around to see Taea standing right in front of her with her shield in front of her like a battering ram.  
  
Taea thrusted the shield forward, but Kidria ducked underneath the blow and kicked out Taea's legs from underneath her. The kick was weak, however, and not quite enough to trip Taea, only to unsteady her. The young Elvaan ran under Taea's legs and suddenly was thrust forward into the wall by a large object behind her. Her forehead slammed into rock, and a warm liquid trickled down into Kidria's eye, and she was momentarily senseless, until she was picked up by the collar and tossed across the room. Kidria landed on her back and slid across the dirt, half unconscious, and stopped only when she tumbled into Taelos' body. She hopped back up to see Taea charging her with her sword out, and Kidria rolled her body around, while still standing up, knocking the sword at an odd angle and leaving Taea vulnerable. Kidria turned back around to Taea and kicked her squarely in the back, knocking her into a nearby wall and throwing her off balance. Taea got up, breathing heavily but unhurt, and looked very angrily towards Kidria. The frown turned into a grin, as Taea noticed Kidria starting to have trouble breathing. The pale Elvaan watched the girl for a moment, then sturdied her shield on her arm, and bashed the nearest wall, shaking the cave.  
  
The ground began to tremble, and Kidria fell over, unable to keep herself balanced. Large stalactites fell from the ceiling, and Kidria was forced to roll all over just to keep from getting impaled. Several small rocks bounced off of Kidria, leaving bruises and scratches, but one knocked her in the head, leaving her senseless long enough for Taea to walk over and stab Kidria in the arm.  
  
The young Elvaan screamed a high shriek and squirmed as blood rushed out of the wound, and tried to focus through the pain and lack of oxygen and she watched Taea get ready for another strike. She barely managed to muster enough energy to roll out of the way and get up across the room, but Kidria found it was getting hard to stay awake.  
  
With her arm bleeding, Taelos unconscious, and the lack of air, Kidria was beginning to feel although she would die. Taea, still utterly unharmed with the shield still on her arm, walked slowly over to the helpless Kidria and watched her for a moment. She lifted up her arm for a strike, but was met with a blinding ray of light to the eye.  
  
Kidria, in a final effort to save herself, had reflected the tiny ray of sunlight out the rocks and through the jewels in her sword directly at Taea's eyes. The pale Elvaan was stunned long enough for Kidria to summon all her strength into her remaining good arm, which she used to direct a slice right towards Taea's heart.  
  
The strike bounced harmlessly off, still protected by the shield's invincibility.  
  
With no energy left, no more Taelos to help her, and no friends able to reach her, Kidria was left to die in a hopeless cave, killed by her former good friend. She collapsed onto her knees and closed her eyes waiting as Taea regained herself and armed herself for the final swing. With a final sigh, Kidria looked up into the lifeless eyes of Taea, and for a moment, just before Taea used her blade, Kidria thought that a hint of recognition glinted in the pale Elvaan's eye.  
  
Then the final blow was struck. 


	9. Resurrection

The cave, which had been so previously full of blood, gore, violence, and destruction, remained quiet. It was peaceful, even, a sort of last bit of pleasure before one died. The blow was intended for a quick death, and the silence of the room relaxed Kidria as the sword was swung. The moment's serenity made for a peaceful passing, and, for a moment, Kidria felt no pain and knew only comfort. Indeed, Kidria would die.  
  
Just not today.  
  
Kidria opened her bloodied eyes to see that although the blow had been meant for her, she was not the one who was killed in it. Taelos had risen from the ground and taken the blow for her, with Taea's sword visible through Taelos' chest, and blood all over his body. Although even as an echo his form was not fully opaque, it was fading, and his final act before death was to hold Taea in place, and to knock the shield from her arm. The former now stood with her sword stuck in his body, her eyes filled with rage at another failed attempt at killing Kidria, and struggling to release the blade from its bonds.  
  
Although Taelos did not have the strength left to speak, and Kidria could not see his eyes, she knew what she was meant to do at that moment. She reached over to her right and picked up the Echo's dark sword, and as she reached, it began to glow with anticipation. Standing up, sword in hand, she looked sorrowfully toward Taelos for a moment before realizing who he really was. Why the voice was so familiar. How she had recognized his features. Why his name was Taelos.  
  
This newfound realization only made it harder for Kidria to finish the job. Now that Taea's black shield lay upon the floor and her focus lay upon the release of her blade, a tear fell from Kidria's eye.  
  
"Altana forgive me." And with that thought in her mind, she drove the sword through Taelos and into Taea's heart, enveloping the cave in an explosion of light, which soon after turned to darkness as Kidria fell to the ground lifelessly.

* * *

Celos stared at the pile of rocks in front of her. "Apparently, my part in this adventure has a lot to do with walls of boulders blocking my way."  
  
Daleth laughed. "Well, Celos, every dog has his day." He grinned at her.  
  
Celos turned around and gave him a hating look. "Are you calling me a bitch?" Daleth just laughed harder. Celos, however, continued to pout. "My sister is in there kicking butt and I'm stuck out here worrying about her. It isn't fun."  
  
Daleth nodded, and looked thoughtfully at Celos. "We're both worried for her, and Taea too. Personally, I'm glad this wall of rocks is here to block my vision of those two fighting. I don't know what I would do were I in there. I care so much for Taea, and yet Kidria..." he frowned. "We can only hope that neither of them ends up hurt."  
  
Celos snorted. "Well, I certainly hope no one gets injured, but if Taea loses to Kidria, at least I get to brag in her face about it." Daleth laughed once more.  
  
The two of them sat watching at wall of rocks, which blocked the walkway. Since there was no humanly way for either of them to get in, they were stuck wondering at the various noises and shaking of the cave from time to time. Although the two of them did try to remain humorous, it was empty, soulless laughter that was only meant to fill the quiet air with something other than regret or nervousness.  
  
The ground shook once more; a tremor much bigger than the previous ones, but the two of them remained unfazed, and Celos continued. "Tell me, Daleth. You mentioned back in Jueno that I was in the greatest danger and that Taea and I are somehow special? Explain to me, I don't like riddles, and I despise being left out."  
  
Daleth bit his lower lip, and seemed to start saying no when he gave a light twitch and spasmed. He gave a deep gasp as if he had just been struck in the abdomen, but then calmed himself, and his manner changed. He grew deathly serious, and his voice was slightly lower.  
  
"Many, many years ago, there was a castle constructed by the beastmen meant to house something, known as Castle Zvhal. Although the castle's purpose remained mostly unknown, people knew that it held something evil that the beastmen worshipped. From time to time, the Federation of Windurst, the Republic of Bastok, and the Kingdom of Sandoria sent their best men, claiming their country alone could find out what this menace was, and would bring its head back as a trophy. However, each time someone was sent, they were never seen again, or came back insane."  
  
Celos nodded. "Just like in the story of the five?"  
  
Daleth started fidgeting with his hands, and continued. "Yes. But this was even before their time. Hundreds of great warriors were lost. Every time a country found someone better, they sacrificed it to this evil, not knowing they were actually feeding it. Eventually, it was deemed that the evil was not defeatable by a single country, and so one warrior from each race was sent to meet at Sandoria, where they would bond in a party and kill the menace as a pact of nations. That was Xenif and his friends. However, they disappeared, and the habit continued. It wasn't until the beastman wars, twenty years ago; that people finally gave up and decided that whatever was in that castle was best left alone. They did not know its true intentions. It was biding its time, seeking perfection."  
  
Daleth got up and watched the wall of rocks for a moment, then started to pace. "The great power inside that castle was Evil. I don't mean it was a bad thing, I mean that it was the actual, physical form of Evil out of an ethereal state. It was Darkness, Loathing, Hatred, Deception, Wrath, Lust, and Gluttony, everything that can be construed as immoral or wrong, wrapped up into an actual shape. That shape was a flowing, silver liquid, an amorphous, moving, glowing, and living metal. It was Evil itself."  
  
"Evil, true to its nature, did not do its own dirty work. Originally, it controlled beastmen. That was how they became evil. It was split into several forms, one for each race of the highest authority. It controlled the warchiefs and shamans of Yagudo, Gigas, Orcs, Quadavs, and other beastman races, and led them all in a fevered religion that devoted itself to worshipping Evil in its shapes and forms. And since it controlled the strongest and most respected members of each of the beastman races, any creatures that attempted to make peace with any other race was immediately eliminated. And so, for many years, the beastmen were led to follow dark ways. Then we arrived."  
  
"Humes, Galkas, Mithras, Tarus, and Elvaans came into being, and formed their own nations. Originally, they were at war with each other, and Evil saw that these respective races had their own power as well. So, with the beastmen still in its grasp, it led a war against the entire world, in an attempt to control these new races as well. In doing so, Evil unwittingly united these five races against the Beastman menace, and soon its plan was foiled against their power. But Evil was so close to winning the war, that its lust for these five races only grew, and seeing their power, it only made Evil hungrier."  
  
"While the wars continued to wage from time to time, Evil decided to build a castle as its new home, which was the castle mentioned in the story. It soon attempted to spread rumors around the world that this castle was dangerous, and a challenge for the greatest warriors to take on, known as the Shadow Lord. Evil created the Shadow lord as a front, a way to test the mettle of warriors who came to the castle, for if they could not defeat this simple creation; they were not worthy of its adoration. The first person sent was a Taru, a great mage, who defeated the Shadow lord in a single spell. Evil was so amazed at this power that it immediately took ahold of him, netting him as the first of the five races to be possessed. Evil was pleased, but it soon sought more power."  
  
"The evil held the Taru there for many years, and in fact, soon possessed one of every race, a Mithra, an Elvaan, a Galka, a Hume, and a Taru. Whenever more warriors were sent, Evil judged their power by fighting its own member against theirs. For example, if Bastok sent a Galka, which defeated the Shadow lord, Evil revealed its own Galka, and they fought in a one on one match to see who was stronger. If the challenger was defeated, Evil left his body to rot. If he proved stronger than Evil's current champion, Evil possessed him too, and in this way, it only grew stronger and stronger with the most powerful warriors in history. So, as you can see, the Evil itself was never actually defeated, just the body holding it."  
  
"There were two things that the evil feared, and nothing else. Just as Evil itself had taken a physical form, so had other things. One was Truth, a mirror that showed the souls and actual happenings of anyone or anything that looked into it. Truth could see behind the bodies holding Evil, behind its tricks and illusions, and it also produced the souls of those who had fallen, which looked like bluish, slightly fading forms. These forms, which were the true idea of the person and his or her soul, could not be possessed nor totally killed by evil. They had incredible endurance, and they had the ability to trap Evil in its own tricks. They are called Echos by mortals."  
  
Celos stared. "Then Truth is..."  
  
Daleth stopped pacing and nodded. "The mirror that Kidria now has. And the Echo who fought with Dal-.... who fought with me was not a reflection of Katmir, it was his soul...it was Katmir himself." Celos noticed Daleth's eyes were beginning to shine lightly, and they seemed to be slightly glazed, but she took no notice as he continued.  
  
"The second thing it fears is Light, the opposite of Evil. Much like Evil, righteousness had taken a form as well. It is unknown to all but Evil what this form is, and to this day people do not know what it looks like. Some say it is a set of weapons that are only produced in the direst need. Some say it is an actual person, a young girl who walks this earth, and doesn't even know her own power. Some say it is both."  
  
"Evil stayed in its castle for two reasons: It was afraid of truth, which lay in a cave just a little outside its own door. Explorers took the mirror, which was explained in the diary you read, which left Evil with freedom. The second reason is that it still sought more power. In its free time it developed its abilities, and soon each race that evil controlled had strength ten times that in their uncontrolled forms, and each had its own special ability or power." Daleth ticked off each power on his fingers as he continued. "The Galka had the power of illusions, to change reality as people saw it as Evil saw fit. The Elvaan had a shield, which granted it total invulnerability unless the shield was lost. The Mithra had incredible speed, a power so fast that it is a blur to mortal sight. The Hume can manipulate weather however he wants, and the Taru can corrupt sanity."  
  
Celos sneered and raised an eyebrow. "Fxeni? Driving people insane? How is that new?"  
  
Daleth paid no heed. "All the while, Evil was biding its time. It had originally thought that the five races acted like Beastmen and followed the strongest. When it learned we were not so simple as that, it came up with another tactic: Perfection. When Xenif and his friends were sent, they were the definition of perfection. There was none better. When they all defeated Evil's current possessions, it controlled them, and learned that as a team of the best, they had power a hundred times what Evil had ever seen before. Evil marveled at its new swiftness, strength, dexterity, and abilities of these five newfound warriors. It had done what it had sought to do; it had found the best of the best. If evil had attacked back then with its five warriors, the world would no exist as it does today. We too would be like the beastmen. However, irony did not favor Evil."  
  
"Time wore on. More warriors came and went, but none stood up to Evil's new toys. It eventually grew bored, and people stopped coming to challenge it. From time to time, some pompous ruler, such as the Duke, would send someone in the hopes of ending the menace or to achieve glory, but none stood up, as the world had none better as Xenif and co."  
  
Celos soaked the information in for a moment. "If the Pale warriors were perfect, how did the others, like Taea, defeat them?"  
  
Daleth smiled. "Because they are perfect as well. Like I said, there never was, is, or ever will be someone better than Xenif and his friends. That is why Truth specifically summoned them to fight the new menace."  
  
Celos' voice grew hysterical. "How can that be?! How can my friends be just as good?"  
  
Daleth smiled. "Think about it."  
  
For a moment, while Celos pondered, the cave was quiet. She knew that Taea, for example, never really seemed normal. None of them really were. But if Taelos, who was supposedly in there fighting with Kidria, was an equal match for Taea, then there must be something else that is equal about them, something that was the same...but what? They can't be the same person, and its not like Taea is somehow the twin of Taelos...but maybe they were the same in one thing...blood?  
  
Celos nodded slowly. "Are you saying they, Taea and the others, are all ancestors of Xenif and his friends?"  
  
Daleth nodded. "Exactly. Only the best can beat the best. The five of them, although taken by evil, left family behind. Daughters and sons. They carried the same blood, strength and potential as their fathers or mothers, all the way until now. Katmir knowingly fought his great-great grandson on the streets of Jueno, and the others will too. However, 500 years is a long time, and much can happen. Taelos was the only one to leave behind two daughters, which descended into two families, which grew distant and superficial. These two families have no idea of their heritage, they do not know of their relation to each other, and yet, Evil cannot be perfect without each member from both families. It did not realize this until it was too late, and so now Evil fights prematurely without its perfection. That is why it is losing. However, if it should somehow manage to either kill off or get a hold of these people it needs, it will be perfect once more. Should it achieve that, Truth will be useless. Echos, strong as they are, stand no chance against a complete Evil." Daleth shut his mouth and was quiet for a moment, then turned slowly towards Celos.  
  
"Taea is one of the two families, Celos. You and Kidria are the other." 


	10. Bloodshed

"I'm the wench's SISTER?!" Celos wasn't happy with her newfound information. "Oh, HELL no."  
  
Daleth remained serious. "You aren't her sister. You are a very, very distant relative, two families spread apart by hundreds of years of lineage. You are barely related."  
  
Celos stuck her tongue out and gave a disgusted look. "That doesn't change the fact that I AM related to her! What's next, I'll find out I'm Marzinquan's mother?!"  
  
Daleth opened his mouth to speak. "Actually-"  
  
Celos didn't let him finish. "NOPE! Don't wanna hear it! Just, next time, now matter how much I beg, leave me in the dark, ok?"  
  
Daleth finally grinned and laughed. "Just like Taelos." he caught himself, and looked at Celos.  
  
Celos looked at him questioningly. "What...did you just say? How did you know Taelos?"  
  
Daleth seemed unsure of himself for a moment, then his eyes refocused back out of their glazed look and he shivered as if something ran across his back. There was a light wisp of air, Daleth gave a moan, and fell to the floor clutching his head. Celos rushed over.  
  
"Daleth, how do you know Taelos?" She was shaking him.  
  
Daleth continued to clutch his forehead but didn't look back at Celos. "My friggen head...who the hell is Taelos?"  
  
Celos gave him an angry look. "You **just **said 'Just like Taelos', so how the hell do you know him?"  
  
"What are you talking about? We were asked me about what I meant about your being special!"  
  
"Dammit Daleth, I'm not in the mood for games!"  
  
"Celos, have you gone completely insane? I'm not playing games!"  
  
A large crashing boom interrupted their argument. A giant tremor shook the cave so badly that Celos was knocked over and the room barely managed to keep from collapsing. Soon, roaring crashes filled Celos' ears so much that she was forced to clench her teeth and cover her ears just to keep from going insane. Walls of dust covered the pile of rocks in front of her, and the room was suddenly filled with a large heating light before everything settled down and Celos and Daleth recollected themselves. When Celos finally looked up, she saw that the rocks, which were previously blocking the tunnel, now had settled so that there was an opening for Daleth and Celos to get through. Without a single word or a gesture, the two of them quickly scrambled over the rocks onto the other side.

* * *

Kidria lay with her head turned to the right on her front with a light bit of blood trickling down her forehead. Beyond her lay Taea, unconscious and seemingly uninjured, but breathing heavily. Next to her laid a black, smoking, shimmering sword, which was pulsating and throbbing as if it contained something. For a moment, all Celos and Daleth could do was stare before they rushed to Kidria's and Taea's sides, respectively. Daleth noticed that Taea was unharmed, but Celos found Kidria in the worst of ways.  
  
Kidria was covered in her own blood, her arm was pierced and Celos could see bone sticking out from the wound. Her jaw hung lack and there was a large gash above her left eyebrow. She was bruised in several place, and her pulse was very close to being nonexistent.  
  
Celos nearly screamed. "Jesus, she's almost dead, and she's been impaled in the arm. We need to get to her to the nearest town. Jueno's the closest, but its vacant and been destroyed...Daleth, she's going to die! There's no where we can take her!"  
  
Daleth did not turn from Taea's side and remained silent, but Celos was hysterical. "Daleth! Kidria is dying! God, someone help!"  
  
Celos heard a shuffling of feet behind her, and turned to see a Taru standing in the doorway. Celos could not recognize its features, but she knew its voice when it spoke.  
  
"We must hurry. Much is afoot in the world, and I must get Kidria to Bastok." The Taru waddled over to Kidria's body, and with a surprising bit of strength, picked up Kidria in her arms. The Taru mumbled a few words, and the Celos noticed that everyone was beginning to glow. With a final gesture by the said Taru, the room disappeared and Celos was picked up in a swirl of motion and whisked away in a flurry of wind.

* * *

Kidria woke up to find a large head right above her face. Her eyes grew wide in a panic, but a comforting hand calmed her upon her arm, and her focus finally realized Celos' face. Soon afterwards her energy left her once more and she fell asleep.  
  
For a few hours she drifted out of consciousness, pondering Taelos' words and what they meant. What part of a key was she? What did he mean about not being fully powered as Celos? Kidria remained in a flurry of questioning thoughts and riddles, and even in her sleep she was disturbed by visions of massacres around the world, a burning Sandoria, and headless bodies lying in piles. She eventually woke with a start clutching her chest, covered in sweat, and panting heavily to see that she was in a nightgown and in a dark room at night. The window outside revealed a dark, starless night, looking down upon a cold, silent town lit by torches. All the buildings, even the taverns which were usually full of singing bards, were quiet, and it chilled the memory of Kidria's visions.  
  
For a moment, she sat there, examining her patched up wounds and her stitches. The door out of her room was made of wood, and the space beneath it was filled with torchlight, and Kidria could not stand the silence. She hopped out of her bed and snuck over to the door and peeked through the keyhole to see a room warmed by a fire in the hearth and the air with voices.  
  
She first recognized Halystaru's voice, a female Taru Kidria had met only a few months before. She was better known by the others, but Kidria had known her long enough to recognize her odd way of talking.  
  
"It was luck, really. I was merely traveling through the area when I saw the massacre in Jueno. The sole living person was Takmir, whom I promptly took to Bastok, and then, being the Whitemage I am, came back and searched the remaining area for survivors. While prancing through Rolanberry fields, I saw a blasting column of light erupt from the Crawler's Nest, which I promptly ran over to. I found you guys there."  
  
The room was quiet for a moment before Kidria heard Celos' voice. "You mentioned other things happening in the world. What about him?" Kidria noticed through the keyhole that Celos was pointing at someone. "Where did he come in?"  
  
A third voice spoke, but Kidria did not immediately place it. "The truth is, I don't know. It was like I was called down to Jueno. I saw the massacre and ran back towards Sandoria to report what had happened. Soon after what occurred there, I scouted around the nation on chocobo and took stock of what areas were attacked. Soon after, I ran to Bastok and found you guys here."  
  
Kidria suddenly had a flash of inspiration. "Wait...that's Fupac!" She covered her mouth in self-protest, and hoped no one heard her. If anyone did, they made no apparent sign, and Daleth spoke this time. "What did you find?"  
  
Fupac spoke again. "Seryaa is wrecking havoc on the dunes. Many are dead, and since Sandoria is busy at the moment, Bastok sent its men to fight. They are still on their way. Meanwhile, Marzinquan's current whereabouts is somewhere in Jugner forest, and the locals here are terrified that they are next."  
  
Celos spoke. "How is Sandoria doing right now?"  
  
Halystaru's turn. "We have no clue of their status. Here in Bastok and over in Windurst we remain untouched for the moment, and since Windurst is stuck on the other side of the ocean, they are effectively cut off from giving us support. Its like the pale warriors are trying to cut us off from one another so that they can weed us out, almost like they are frightened of something."  
  
Celos nodded. "They are scared, but not of your armies. Pull your armies back...they will only be massacred. The only weapon we have against the three of them at the moment is Truth, since we have no idea where "Light" is."  
  
Daleth looked at her quizzically. "How did you know about Truth? I didn't tell you..."  
  
Celos sighed and shook her head. She explained everything, with Kidria watching all the while. What the mirror was, the history of the Evil, and what Celos and Kidria really were. She talked about the legend of Light and Evil's weakness, its powers, and the secret behind Evil's perfection. After a half hour of taking all of this, Kidria was left sick to her stomach. She was what this Evil was fighting for? Why did it want her? She never wanted a part in this...  
  
Celos finished up the story, and gazed at the ceiling. "Whoever told me all this, since it apparently wasn't Daleth, left some things unsaid. He never explained why the Evil would try to kill Kidria when it could just as easily possessed her in that cave, why Truth was in that hole outside the castle Zvhal, and why evil still continues to fight even though it knows its not perfect. It has revealed the one greatest tool it had going for it, the fact that mankind had no knowledge about this Evil. There has to be something we don't know that Evil does, and I have no clue what that could be. Kidria, do you know anything?"  
  
Kidria gulped and gave a shocked look as Celos turned her head toward the keyhole Kidria was peering through. She sighed heavily with her cover blown and opened the door to see Daleth, Celos, Halystaru, and Fupac sitting in chairs around the fire talking. She limped over to the four of them and sat in a nearby chair.  
  
"All I know is that Taelos said I unlocked 'Potential' and that somehow, I was related to him. I was always dense, I didn't get how he was related until the very end. Don't expect much help from me in this riddle, because I suck at solving things."  
  
Halystaru grinned at her. "Well, at least you are a decent fighter. You took on a Pale Warrior single-handedly, and lived. Chances are you will go on in history along with the rest of this facade of events."  
  
Celos turned glum and rested her hand upon her chin. "While Celos stared at rocks. Woo."  
  
Daleth frowned. "Personally, I would be glad to live without these memories. I never wanted to see my own friends try to kill me, nor to see innocents massacred, or even to see Cerulean or Taea turn against me." He seem troubled by even the slightest glance at Kidria, who was puzzled by the look.  
  
Celos gave Kidria an odd look. "Kid...you ok? You're turning pale. You've already lost a lot of blood, but you look like you've seen a ghost."  
  
Kidria felt a rush to her head for a moment, and then felt her forehead pump. "I don't know...I think...I think..." She felt woozy for a moment, and her vision began to clog and the world began to fog and cloud. The vision of her sister faded, and Kidria's eyes rolled into the back of her head and she fainted.

* * *

It was Taelos' voice. _"Kidria, I apologize for the abrupt reunion, but I needed to speak."_  
  
"About what?"  
  
_"I have many things to say, but little time, so please listen, but do not speak. To begin with, I need to thank you. I now rest in peace along with Katmir, and my friends will be short to follow. I apologize for not telling you of our...relation, but it was something that needed to remain unsaid."  
  
"But now is not the time for that. You must go, now, along with Celos and the others, to Valkrum Dunes, Jugner Forest, and Sandoria. You are a key in more than just potential, but I do not know how. Only Evil does. I do know this: It no longer seeks to control you, only to kill you at all costs, so stay out of its sight. Something wrong is afoot."  
  
"Furthermore, you must know that although you play a key part, you are still in danger. Stay out of the way. Also, do not let Celos get near the Evil either, if that is possible. Halystaru and Fupac will help you as well, but for a time, leave Daleth behind."_  
  
"Why?"  
  
_"When he entered the cave you fought in, his first and only thoughts were Taea and nothing else. Despite the fact that she is unharmed, he is angry with himself for being more worried about someone who is unhurt and who attempted to murder you while you lay dying and bleeding. He is still your friend, but this is a battle he will be forced to sit out on."  
  
The voice sighed. "Ah...Kidria, so many things left unsaid. One day, when you have earned redemption, you will finally meet my family and me as well. I look forward to that day Kidria, but do not work to hasten its coming. Perhaps one day we can truly meet, not on a battlefield, but as one to another, but until then...goodbye Kidria. Once more, I thank you."_

* * *

Kidria's eyes snapped open to see her friends looking at her worryingly. Although they saw she was awake, no one spoke until Kidria opened her mouth in inquiry.  
  
She turned to Halystaru as she talked. "Haly...in my sleep, a few hours ago, I had visions of Sandoria burning, and...a 'friend' told me to go there. What's happening?"  
  
Halystaru bit her lower lip and looked into the burning fire in the hearth with sorrowful eyes for a few moments in silence. When she finally did turn back at Kidria, she had a look like something terrible had happened.  
  
"Less than twelve hours ago, back while you fought Taea, Sandoria, your home, came under attack by Fxeni. Eight hours ago, he broke in the front gate and into the confines in the city. Four hours ago, we lost contact. Now, a glow lights up the northern sky, a glow that may very well be the burning of the Kingdom of Sandoria." 


	11. Alliances

_"Another has fallen."  
  
"How can that be?! You are the heir to the greatest perfection, the ancestor of a power greater than any other. And now you tell me that she not only fell, but that she failed to destroy Truth OR the Light?!"  
  
"It isn't so simple as that. You know the girl was helped, and without the two souls we are still unbalanced."  
  
"Then perhaps we must fight as one, not separately. Although our plans are working, I do not see a very good outcome from this. We need an outlet."  
  
"We have already decided upon that. The girl, she has already been chosen for the trap."  
  
"Fine. Whichever of you should come face to face with the girl, you must lose. This is a delicate balance, and we must regain our lost trait of being hidden. Be sure to leave the girl applicable to our ways as you die."  
  
"An end to the fun? But fighting the Sandorian armada was so much entertainment..."  
  
"You know what must be done. Pleasure after success."  
  
"We were doing well until Katmir interfered and let the girl know about these events. I would gladly ring his neck, should I see him again. Shame he is dead."  
  
"Forget about that, we will use he own tricks against him."  
  
"What about the others...the ones they call Fupac and Halystaru?"  
  
"I care not. Kill them, beat them, maim them, or do whatever you like, but make sure they do not save the girl. We must continue to make them think they understand. One word of caution, if Fupac or Halystaru should learn, I want them dead. Eliminated. Obliterated."  
  
"They are coming."  
  
"Remember to take the fall. Only then can we rise."_

* * *

_He came at midnight.  
  
A wily fellow, he did not seem eager about his job, but it was most certainly he. He was perplexed by the silence I had left, curious about the lack of bodies or monsters. When I had finished off the foolhardy men and women around the area, I soon grew bored and took on the monsters for sport as well. They weren't much of a challenge, just something to ease my mind while I waited.  
  
But now, he had finally arrived. The Elvaan bearing Truth, unaware I was watching him all the while. I always found these animals curious, they tended to try and explain things as they occurred, thinking before acting. I saw no use in it; a slow act meant a quick death. Shedding blood easily solves many conflicts. Regardless, it made them smart, cunning, unpredictable in ways that seem the most obvious. That was why most of their kind is best killed off immediately before they can comprehend anything.  
  
But...what harm could it do? I was bored; I needed entertainment. Something to ease my mind. Perhaps a little game of cat and mouse would do, and if I made sure to put my speed to good use, perhaps I could decapitate him or slit his throat before he had an actual chance to lift Truth. I had no interest in fighting the soul of my predecessor; I knew his power.  
  
He turned, obviously studying something, and I reacted without a moments notice. I hopped from my perch and drew my axe, and sped over to him, standing a mere few inches behind him. He did not sense me immediately, but when he did, I stayed to his back and out of sight, making sure to let him get a quick glance of me, but not enough to confirm whom I was.  
  
Odd...he didn't seem shocked. Most of his kind's hearts erupted with energy at such an encounter, a beat that made me smile. He seemed resilient. He merely stared into the air. Perhaps I will need to be more direct. Once more he turned looking for me, but I easily stayed out of his sight with my speed. It is difficult not to create a windstorm with my agility, and thus alert him, so I didn't move as fast as I possibly could. When he still did not appear changed, I promptly ran in front in full force, grabbed his throat, and slammed him against a nearby rock wall in a second's time. Far too quick for any man to comprehend.  
  
Ah...there it was. His heart was finally reacting, increasing in speed, a beat that I can follow and listen to. It did not grow as high as I thought it would, but it was enough to make me smile, and I was growing eager for shed blood. Not yet however...I still need more of a response.  
  
For a moment, I watched him try to think. Once again, I could easily have cleaved his skull in two, yet...I was curious as to how he would react. After rubbing his chin for a moment, he picked up Truth, and looked into its reflection. I let him see me, standing behind him, but I was ready for what the mirror would show. I held the axe above his head, eager for an excuse to splice his head, and he merely stared. All I was waiting for was an action, anything, that would let me drop the axe. Playing with these creatures isn't half the fun of taunting them with their own demise.  
  
He stared for a moment. I grew impatient, thinking his stupidity to be a kind of game, and just before I decided to kill him, he turned the mirror upwards, shining light into my eye. I was blinded for only a short moment, long enough for him to roll away, and I quickly dissipated into the night air so that once more he would be clueless.  
  
But he was getting smart, he seemed to know what he was up against. I decided that I should wait no longer to finish him off. Odd however, he is running? Hoho...funny, I did not think his type to be a coward. Perhaps the game can go on a little longer. I sped after him towards the beach, intent on playing with him some more, then got out of sight to see what he would do. He kept running, into the ocean and its waves, and stood there. Looking for me. Why?_

* * *

Fupac looked side to side, searching the entire area for Seryaa. She was nowhere in sight, but he knew she was there nonetheless. Seryaa, even before the Silver had come along, had a habit of playing games and teasing others. That would only be escalated in this new form, and Fupac knew that Seryaa could have easily cut him apart without any notice should she have chosen too.  
  
The main threat here was Seryaa's speed. Her incredible agility made for an impossible way to follow her with sight, and she was so quick that hearing was too slow to follow her as well. So instead of waiting helplessly around, he had run to the ocean. She may be fast, but she wasn't a ghost. So he waited.  
  
Five minutes, which seemed like an eternity, passed, and Fupac hadn't felt nor saw any movement. If he hadn't known any better, he would say he was alone, but Evil apparently had insane patience. When it finally did come, Fupac recognized it immediately.  
  
The water lifted in a line into the air and rushed towards Fupac, who dodged immediately to the side and ran around to the other side of the beach. The water continued to rise out for a distance, and then stopped at a point where a blur formed into a white Mithra who stared, eyes burning, right at Fupac. To get to him, Seryaa had to run through the water, and the water was like a beacon screaming out her location, since her speed caused it to fly into the air. Fupac smiled to himself. Maybe he did stand a chance.

* * *

_I took too long, just like I thought, the creatures are contemplative, and are good thinkers, and I have been tricked by playing with him for too great a time.  
  
After chasing this man into the ocean, there was no chance of stealth. The waves and water did not make for an easy path of no detection, so I decided to reveal myself and fight this man one on one. I held up my axe so that he could see it shimmering in the moonlight, hoping to scare him, but he did not stir nor move. Pah.  
  
In a moment, I was upon him. The waves slowed my movement and revealed me, but my greatest weapon was still my speed, and he barely met his scythe with my axe in time. He gritted his teeth as I tried to throw down his power, but I remained calm, serene. His strength was great, but he head forgot one thing. My speed.  
  
In a second I had ducked underneath his scythe, punched him in the stomach, and elbowed him in the back, and he was thrown into the ground on his belly. He had forgotten my speed, for which I had repaid him in tow. He looked unconscious, and I was not prepared when he struck out and tripped me, and before I could react, he had picked up Truth, that damnable mirror, and shone it right into my face._

* * *

Fupac felt the mirror pulsate and warm, and before it had finished, the Mithra had retreated over to the other side of the beach, but the mirror had gotten its look, and that was all it needed. Fupac struggled to hold it in place as the entire area was lit by the glow, but he did not let go as an Echo stepped out of the mirror and into the water, leaving the mirror to rest.  
  
Fupac let the mirror fall and looked in front of him to see a beautiful Mithra, with white hair and a dangling tail, standing before him. Fupac had always found Mithras pleasing to the eye, but this one's magnificence was uncanny; he was perplexed by its looks. Fupac quickly regained himself from the fight and stepped to the side so that he could get a clear look at Seryaa again, and without turning his eyes, he talked to the echo.  
  
"Sreaya?" The Echo nodded, but did not speak. "I need your help..." Fupac's voice trailed off, and the Echo did not respond, but it seemed to hear him. All it continued to do was stare at the pale warrior in front of her, and Fupac continued to stare with here, intent on waiting for an opening.  
  
-----------------------------  
  
_"That is what you get, my child, for being cocky and vain." Sreaya's voice spoke into my mind, and the memory of her voice and the power I once had left me angry, bitter.  
  
"When will you give up evil? You know you cannot defeat these warriors, you are imperfect, and they know all your plans."  
  
You think these mortals stand a chance?  
  
"More than that, they can and will defeat you. In time they will find light, and when they do, you will still be imprisoned in those weapons bearing your name."  
  
You don't seem to understand how we work. We know everything they plan, and we have adjusted.... accordingly.  
  
"No matter what path you take, Evil, you still will not win. And today, right now, under this moonlit sky, you will fall as well, and my daughter will remain unharmed."  
  
If and when I lose this body, Sreaya, it will be at my own choosing, and although you may get her back, you won't be alive to see it.  
  
I charged at the Mithra, in full speed, but she was prepared; she had once had this power too. She simply sidestepped me, and I was left stumbling for a foothold...with this great of speed, it was impossible to stop without sliding in the water. She took an advantage of this; I felt a slash across my back and fell forward, silver dripping softly into the ocean. I turned and charged her and knocked her down onto her back, then lifted my axe for a blow, when the blasted Elvaan appeared once more and sent it flying from my hand with his scythe.  
  
In anger, I turned around and grabbed his throat and lifted him into the air, my teeth gritting, and worked on crushing his throat. Sreaya, who was behind me, knocked me senseless and thereafter I turned around and sent her flying with a kick to the chest. I turned once more towards the man, and saw a scythe flying through the air, aimed for my head.  
_

* * *

Fupac felt the blow would land, since Seryaa was still partially stunned and she had no weapon, but instead of taking the blow, she grabbed the scythe with both hands, and prevented it from hitting her. Fupac watched in horror and sliver irked out around Seryaa's hands as she struggled to hold the scythe back, then yanked it from Fupac's hands, and slashed him across the chest.  
  
It was enough of a blow to get through his armor and send him into a daze, but it left no blood. Quick to react, and knowing that the scythe was slow to yield, Fupac smashed the Mithra across the face with a punch, which sent it stumbling backwards into Sreaya, who tripped her from the back and bunted her in the stomach with her own axe. The pale Mithra seemed stunned, but soon got up, and seeing how it was loosing, started a new tactic. It ran, back and forth, across the waves on the beach, using its incredible speed, which lifted the waves into the air. As she increased in speed, the waves got higher, until they were nearly twenty feet tall, whereupon Seryaa started running in a circle instead of a line.  
  
The large column of water followed Seryaa, and soon curved into tornado of rushing liquid. It grew in size until it was huge, and Seryaa grew into a blur, then started running towards Sreaya and Fupac, with the tornado shortly in tow.  
  
Fupac, half stunned and half shocked at this monstrous creation, was far too unprepared to dodge the whirlwind in time, and was sucked into it, along with Sreaya. Fupac felt like his whole body was being torn apart and the water felt as needles against his skin, piercing him and striking him millions of times across his whole body. Soon after, he was thrown from the towering water like a doll into a nearby wall, which smashed him senseless and left blood trickling out his mouth and down his chin. When Fupac finally regained himself, he saw that Seryaa stood on the other side of the arena, holding a bleeding Sreaya into the sky with her hands and her axe at Sreaya's throat. Fupac looked viciously all over for anything to save the Echo's life, but he did not see anything, until the tornado, still partially alive even without it's owner running around, sent his scythe flying at him and into the wall, two feet to Fupac's left.

* * *

_I told you, even if you did get this body back, you would not leave here alive.  
  
"I am already dead, you bastard. Nothing you do now nor ever will let you have me again, and I guarantee you won't have that body for long." She spit into my face, which I wiped off with my free hand, and gave her a playful look.  
  
Defiant to the end?  
  
"You know it."  
  
I may not be able to kill you, but at least I can finish you off before your "mission" is complete, which will land you in an eternity of purgatory.  
  
"Don't be so sure. Bad guys like you always get what they deserve."  
  
Justice? Death? Imprisonment?  
  
"No. A scythe in the back."  
  
Before I could contemplate what she meant, there was a sound of a blade cutting through air, and I felt a great, powerful, shining blade bite directly into my back, and I felt the power of the Echo's imprisonment spread throughout my body._

* * *

Fupac, without a bit of hesitation, had thrown the Scythe head over heels at Seryaa's back. The blow was good, a direct hit at where the heart would be, and the stunned, Pale warrior fell to the ground on her knees and dropped the choking Sreaya. Fupac hauled over towards the two of them, and Seryaa began to light up and glow, a yellow golden light, which began to expand. Fupac half dragged, half carried Sreaya away from the beach, around a bend, and into a small cave when the entire area of the Dunes exploded in a ball of fire and light. Sand filled the air and flew into the cave where the two of them sat, and Fupac felt the heat of the blast like it was a breath of hot air bent on cooking him alive. When the air cleared, he looked out to see the air was choked with clouds of dust like a sandstorm, and he left Sreaya behind in the cave to look out at what had happened to the Pale warrior.  
  
He found Seryaa, no longer pale and breathing, lying unconscious on the edge of the beach, with the water gently brushing against her. Next to her lay Fupac's scythe, which was no longer the silver, gleaming blade he knew it to be. It was now black in color, and its shape had twisted into a dark looking weapon, and it seemed to gleam at him in the moonlight. He left it stand there in the sand, and walked over to pick up Truth. He stared at the mirror for a moment and wiped off the sand on it, then walked back to the cave to see that Sreaya was gone. No trace of her was left, but Fupac felt sad that he had had no chance to say goodbye. He heaved the mirror over his shoulder and felt a light breath of wind go across his face, and as Fupac trounced off for Jugner Forest, he felt a little better about Sreaya's sudden disappearance. 


	12. Trickery

Celos struggled through the vines and foliage of the forest, searching around for any sign of her prey. As of yet she had seen no sign of Marzinquan, but that did not make Celos feel any better...the forest was quiet. No birds were chirping, no sheep were grazing. It wasn't a serene feeling, it was a haunting one.  
  
Back in Bastok the three of them, Celos, Fupac, and Halystaru, had drawn straws on who got to use truth first. Celos had come up second, and now patiently awaited the arrival of Fupac, who was at the dunes. She had originally been warned that this fight was not for her, and Daleth and Kidria had stressed to her not to go, but Celos was far too stubborn to miss out on the fun. Trees were a nice change from staring at rocks.  
  
Regardless, Celos had entered the forest with a sense of stealth, bent on waiting for Fupac's arrival, but after a few hour's time she had grown bored, and now actively sought out the location of Marzinquan. Since she had no echo to aid her, she didn't really know what she would do if she actually FOUND Marzinquan, but she never really did like thinking ahead.  
  
Celos stopped and stared at some brush twenty feet ahead. Although she wasn't good at planning, she did have very keen senses, and she knew something was in that bush. She thought she had seen it move. Ducking behind a nearby tree, she picked up a small pebble, studied it, and heaved it into the bush twenty feet ahead. She missed the bush by six feet.  
  
"Oh, god damnit." Celos muttered. She picked up a larger rock this time and threw it, and hit a nearby tree instead. She picked up about twenty pebbles this time and threw them all, and one of them managed to directly connect with the bush, which began to shake. A forest tiger emerged from the bush, but it did not seem angry at being disturbed. Rather, it was seemingly frightened, with its tail between its legs, whimpering. It had a small wound on its aft end which was bleeding lightly, and it was avoiding walking on its front left leg much, which appeared to be broken.  
  
Celos stood up from her hiding place and studied this curious creature. She crept closer whereupon the Tiger caught sight of her, its eyes growing large. After staring for a moment, the Tiger turned directly around and ran out of sight away from Celos, who merely scratched her head. She wasn't that intimidating was she?  
  
A sudden thought struck Celos, and sensing a possibility of a threat, she wheeled around to see if anyone or anything was standing behind her. Nothing was there; the clearing she had been in a moment ago was still devoid of life. But the air was getting slightly humid and stuffy, and she noticed the skies were beginning to darken. The last thing she needed was to spend a night out here in the dark while it rained; she had brought no provisions except her wits, her weapons and armor. Her stomach growled once in protest, and Celos searched her person hoping to find a candy bar in her pockets somewhere, but to her avail, there were none. She plopped down on the ground and clenched her empty belly. The only thing really edible in this forest was the wildlife, as all the berries and fruits were either poisonous or too hard to reach. Then she noticed the trail of blood the tiger had left...  
  
An hour later Celos sat on her haunches munching on Tiger meat next to a bonfire. It wasn't any microwave dinner, but it was certainly enough to stave her appetite. However, she still hadn't found Marzinquan, Fupac still hadn't arrived, it was starting to get dark, and worst of all, the clouds in the sky looked more threatening then ever. After finishing off a chunk of meat, Celos set off in search of a cave, and found a small opening in a rock just as the rain began to fall. She laid her head on the closest thing she could find to a pillow, which was a semi-hard rock, and quickly fell asleep.  
  
She was awakened in the night by a cry. When she opened her eyes, the night was still far too dark to see far in, and the rain was pouring harder in ever. But there was a small, shining object to her right. She crawled over to the object, which she saw was a mirror. How did truth get here?  
  
Her thoughts were interrupted by a second cry from somewhere in the night, and from somewhere out of the darkness a torch, still burning in the rain with a flame, was thrown directly at her feet. Puzzled to say the least, she picked up the torch and walked off into the darkness searching for answers. For a half hour she searched the area, but no other clues were flung nor given to her, and there was no sign of Fupac. After entering a clearing, which she recognized as the area where she first saw the tiger, Celos' nose detected a scent in the air. It was a strong stench, a horrible smell like a garbage dump or a carcass, which Celos followed into the night. It got stronger as she continued running, and she increased her speed right up until she was met with a giant black mass.  
  
At first, Celos did not really recognize what was before her. The night was dark, and the torch was almost failing in the rain, but it held enough light to see that Celos was looking at an unnatural thing. It wasn't moving, and it didn't seem alive, but it wasn't anything like a freakish plant. She walked up to the thing, and touched it, feeling something like hair or fur across her fingers. A small smear of some liquid, not rain, also came with the touch, and Celos sniffed the substance. She didn't recognize it until she tasted a small piece of it, which she promptly spit out. She had only tasted it earlier that night. Tiger blood.  
  
As if on cue, the torch suddenly exploded in a large flame which allowed Celos to see the object before her. It wasn't a blob, it wasn't a mass, it was a pile dead bodies. Celos was staring at a pile of a hundred or so tiger carcasses piled on each other in the night, all bleeding with their bodies cut or beaten, or their necks broken, or their heads removed from their bodies. Celos stepped back in automatic human response, and than backed away behind a nearby tree, thinking the same person who did this might still be around. After regaining her breath, she took one more look at the pile of bodies behind the tree, and suddenly felt a lump fall onto her feet. She turned back around to see an Elvaan, clad in armor, unconscious and bleeding with his nose broken, lying upon her feet. It was Fupac.  
  
Celos screamed and jumped back, then drew her weapon. Fupac was literally dropped into her lap by something in the night, something that had been in the trees, probably the same something who gave her the mirror and the torch, and the same something that killed all these tigers for sport. She knew exactly who it was. Marzinquan was watching her, right at that moment, and yet she could not see him. It was pitch black, and nothing can defend itself against an enemy it can't see, was this a kind of taunt?  
  
Her head was knocked forward by a light whack to the back of her head, surprising the monk more so than frightening her. Celos rubbed her head as she turned around to look at who was there. She found nothing but Fupac's unconscious body, and all Celos could do was feel helpless as the rain continued to pour onto her and drip off her armor and face, soaking Celos like a dog. The downpour increased in intensity, and with no energy left, the torch was finally extinguished in the rain, leaving Celos immersed in a world of total darkness and confusion.  
  
Fearing for her life and scared of what she couldn't see, Celos stumbled around in the endless forest devoid of life, searching for something she could grasp and hold on to. The rain became a beat that Celos' heart played along to; the raging clouds above only grew worse and soon grew into a typhoon, ripping the forest with blasts of electricity and sound. The lightning occasionally lit Celos' eyes with the forest's features, but eventually the night caught up with her and Celos ran herself into a tree, knocking her back down as she clenched her forehead in pain. Something dropped from the tree in front of Celos, and she reached out to feel metal, something sharp and hard; a blade cold and soft to the touch.  
  
Lightning lit up the sky once more, and Celos looked up quickly enough to see who dropped the sword. Marzinquan stood high up in the tree's branches, staring at Celos with piercing eyes, equipped with the second weapon in his other hand, and black armor about his body. When the light from the lightning faded, the light from Marzinquan's eyes remained bright enough for Celos to still see them. When lightning struck once more a moment later, the sword, which was in front of her seconds ago, was gone.  
  
Celos' eye's were blinded by darkness, her hearing blocked by the rainfall, her smell smothered by the stench of the dead tigers, and every cell in her mind was screaming for a way out; she was beginning to panic, trapped in a world where she was as helpless as a child and scared into the actions of one as well. But Celos managed to remain steady, and waited. Truth had saved her friends before; perhaps it could help once more. She leaned it against a nearby tree, and wiped the rain from her eyes as she watched the mirror in the moonlight.  
  
The mirror did not flash nor ripple this time, but it did not reflect a storm in its reflection. It held the sight of a lovely summer night, glimmering with the image of a full moon untouched by clouds, stars shining in its aura. No storm raged in the mirror's view, no blasting winds caressed the trees, and no lightning split the sky, it was quiet. Yet rain still fell from Celos' body, and her armor was soaked so much Celos feared it would rust. She did recall what had been said before however, how she was told of the Pale Warrior's powers, and how the Hume controlled weather.  
  
As soon as she came to this realization, the mirror got to work. It shone a piercing white light from its bowels into the night sky, which spread from a simple column of light into a spreading wave of radiating glows, which engulfed the night sky and blinded Celos. When she uncovered her eyes, the heavy clouds in the sky were gone, victims to Truth's vision. Celos still remained soaking wet, however, and readied herself for any sign of the reappearance of Marzinquan.  
  
A branch swaying caught Celos' eyes in a small area ahead, and she saw a shape land on its feet and hands like a cat, face down, in front of her. Marzinquan raised his head, eyed Celos, stood up then held his swords at the ready, prepared for a fight. Clouds appeared from nowhere in the night sky, and before Celos could grab Truth once again, lightning struck around Celos and Marzinquan in a perfect circle and set the ground ablaze in a blast of heat and flames, trapping the two of them in an arena of fire. Truth lay across the large wall of flames, safely out of Celos' reach and unable to help her.  
  
Growling and shifting her eyes, Celos steadied herself in a fighting position and waited for a move from Marzinquan. The Hume merely stared at her, waiting for the same response from said Elvaan, who eventually grew impatient and charged. As soon as Celos reached the Hume, she swung an uppercut, and smiled right as the hook connected with the Hume's jaw. His head was knocked upwards but his stance remained in place, and he merely brought his face back to level with Celos', apparently unharmed. He slapped her across the face and she was sent reeling, twisting across herself towards the ring of fire. She quickly hopped back up from the ground and felt relatively unhurt except for her pride...that blow had connected perfectly!  
  
Regardless, Celos charged once again but instead feigned an uppercut and instead finished with a kick to the chest. It was more than Marinquan expected, who took a step back to keep from being knocked over by the blow, but enough to raise his temper and lower his temperament. He stepped forward and slashed Celos across the leg, who grimaced in horror and fell upon one knee, bleeding at the thigh. In anger Celos punched the Pale warrior in the waist then head butted him and threw him into the blazing fire at the edge of the arena. The flames swallowed Marzinquan in a kind of dancing glee, where the Hume disappeared in the heat. A second later the blaze parted to let Marzinquan flip through them and land in front of Celos, whereupon he started a furious assault on the unprepared Elvaan.  
  
Two strikes to the face, which Celos blocked with her weapons, were followed with a strike to the left arm and a spinning thrust to the chest. Celos wasn't very quick in response to the attacks and sloppily countered with a lazy swing of her left hand to the strike and a quick dodge from the thrust. The Hume continued with a crossing slash which Celos blocked with both arms, leaving the two of them locked blade to blade. Celos was struggling far too hard and was left much too vulnerable to dodge the quick roundhouse to her chest from the Pale warrior, and she was sent rolling over herself backwards. She caught herself on the third roll with a push that leapt her back to her feet, and found that Marzinquan had disappeared. She quickly ripped a piece of her clothing from her leg and tore it around the wound in her thigh, which let her use her leg more ably, and tore the clearing apart with her eyes, seeking the Hume once more. There was a cracking sound like a whip behind her, and Celos wheeled around to see two blades clasped around her neck like a pair of scissors. Marzinquan stood with the two swords ready to cut her neck, but did not move immediately. He seemed to have trouble finishing the job and twitched uncomfortably. A screech from above turned Celos away from her current quandary and into a new one.  
  
A whitish wyvern flew in from the night sky, seemingly appearing out of nowhere, and clawed threateningly at Marzinquan's hair. The Hume seemed extremely displeased, but reacted by sheathing his swords, snapping his fingers, and disappearing into nowhere along with the flames that had kept Celos from Truth a moment before. Reacting as fast as she could, she limped over to the mirror and shone it frantically around until she found the Pale warrior resting in a tree, and then waited for it to get to work. Soon enough it glowed, rippled, and warmed Celos' fingers, who soon viewed a Hume take shape in the light.  
  
She nodded. "Quanzirman."  
  
_"Get out of here! NOW!"_ The echo seemed to be extremely mad at her; Celos had expected pleasant greetings.  
  
_"What? No, I'm going to stay here and help you fight!"_ Celos sneered and remained stubborn.  
  
_"You don't understand! It's a trap! He isn't here to kill you!_" As soon as the Echo finished his sentence, Marzinquan leaped from his perch and strolled over towards the Echo and Celos.  
  
_"If he isn't going to kill me, then I have nothing to worry about. I want some action!" _Celos smiled.  
  
"_This isn't a game! You are going-"_The Echo was interrupted by a slash from Marzinquan, who didn't appreciate letting the Echo explaining things. The Echo quickly dodged to the side, nimbly drew its own swords, and counter-striked with a thrust. Marzinquan parried and did a spinning slash with both of his swords, which the Echo ducked under and tried to stop the attack with a swinging kick intended to trip the Pale warrior. Marzinquan hopped into the air over said kick, and front flipped with his swords down intent on piercing Quanzirman's skull, who rolled forward and kicked backwards as he did so, which connected with the Pale Warrior's back and sent him reeling. Celos took this opportunity to charge the stunned Hume who she uppercutted into the air and sent flying into a nearby tree with a kick. The Pale Warrior regained and turned himself around in midair, and landed on the tree feet first, whereupon he pushed off like a bullet and shot back towards Celos. The monk was quick enough to duck, but the Echo had barely gotten back up and was met full force in the chest and knocked backwards in a fist fight on the ground. Marinzquan landed on top after rolling over each other, and proceeded in a flurry of punches to the Echo's face. Celos ran up from behind and whacked Marzinquan in the back of the head, who stopped his assault and turned his head in a annoyed frown at Celos. He grabbed the monk by the neck of her armor and threw her forward, but Celos grabbed the Pale Hume's arm and held tight using him as a bracing lever, which brought her right back to earth in a swinging motion. With inertia still in her favor, she pushed against the ground and lifted the Pale Hume off of the Echo and sent him in a throw head down and back first into an oak tree a yard in front of her.  
  
The ground shook with the blow, and Marzinquan slid slowly to the ground headfirst and remained stunned upon the earth for a moment. Breathless and filled with a thirst for a fight, Celos' fist's shook with energy and anticipation as Marzinquan slowly pushed himself up and wiped silver blood from his mouth. His body brimmed with a sort of eagerness, but the Pale Hume sheathed his swords into his belt and strolled forward to Celos unarmed. Not one to be taken lightly, Celos gave a left hook which was abruptly caught by Marinquan's fist and crushed in his cold palms. Celos fell to the ground in pain, whereupon Marzinquan reached forward and grabbed her throat, and the monk was lifted aloft with an incredible force, and then pressed onto a tree. She was smacked helplessly around by the Pale warrior's other fist across the face many times, unable to respond due to being pinned against the tree. Blood gurgled in her mouth but the monk refused to surrender, until her throat was released and she was let to fall to the ground coughing for air. Marzinquan had let her go and picked up Quanzirman instead, who now struggled in the air with his legs dangling for solid ground.  
  
_"Run..."_  
  
Marzinquan drew a blade into his free left hand and turned it in a semi circle still he held it pointed directly at the Echo's head.  
  
_"RUN..."_  
  
Marzinquan reeled back for a thrust, and Celos started running...TOWARDS the Echo.  
  
_"RUN!!!!!!!"  
_  
But it was too late; Marzinquan heaved the sword directly at the Quanzirman's head. There was no blood, no gory looks, the Echo simple dissipated into air. Celos merely stared at the smiling Marzinquan. Once more Celos had lost someone, and it did not sit well. The night rang with a scream that the monk had emptied into its maw, and Celos felt a rush of blood and adrenaline she had never known before. She charged at Marzinquan, who still remained smiling, and was met full force in the chest by a tackle. He flew backwards and compiled himself, but dropped his swords in the struggle, which Celos picked up and wielded as her own. The Elvaan ran forward, slashed at Marzinquan's face and chest, which his dodged which a quick jump back, which was met with two more strikes and thrusts. Marzinquan nimbly dodged each attack, but seemed to be slowing up, and was finally caught by a slash to the arm, which Celos followed with a sword hilt smash to his nose and a roundhouse kick to his stomach. The pale Hume, no longer confident, stumbled back. Celos took full advantage of the moment; front flipped forward, jumped up, and smashed the Pale Hume in the jaw with a crashing blow. Marzinquan was lifted into the air like a doll thrown by a child, and crashed to the ground, unconscious. Celos, still filled with an inhumane rage, took two steps forward, scowled at the helpless warrior, and stabbed him with both swords in the body. Cold, metallic silver liquid sprayed across Celos' face and body, drenching her anew.  
  
It was as if she had awoken from a bad dream. Celos was horrified at the brutal massacre of Quanzirman, but she had only done worse to the Pale Hume, who now lay, apparently, dead. She stepped back and wiped a small streak of the silver from her face, finding it ironic. She did not notice the blast of white, healing light that came from Marzinquan, or the fact that he was not unharmed, nor did she notice the small, white wyvern watching her from the trees. All Celos could do was stare at the white blood on her fingers, a reminiscent of what a horrific act she had just committed.  
  
It was too much for her; it all was. The past few days happenings caught up to her: The return of Daleth bleeding, the grip Evil held on her friends, the near death of her kid sister, the loss of Sandoria, and now this: The brutal massacre she didn't even mean to commit. With a final look at her silver fingers, Celos closed her eyes and collapsed upon the ground.  
  
The last memory she had before losing consciousness was a voice. It wasn't human, and it wasn't transparent and friendly like the Echo's. It was hard, and solid, and frank, a voice you would expect from someone like the Duchy of Jueno. It was honest, and said very little, but meant so very much.  
  
_"Very good, little girl."_ It had said. _"Very, very good."_


	13. Betrayal

Kin to hatred, Fire burned in Halystaru's eyes. Sandoria was no longer a city of beauty and wonder and pride, it was a world of heat and fire. Towers crumbled right before Halystaru's sight, the walls were decimated, and no movement save the taunting dancing flames was seen. Sandoria was a ghost. But fire did not destroy living souls, and it did not kill the hope of the people. Halystaru would find Fxeni, she would hunt him down, and Evil would die for this atrocity.  
  
Initiating her own fate, she lowered her head from her view of the night sky and walked into the front gate. Footsteps echoed around the room, filling the air with a sound that fought and tangled with the roar of a flame. Too much hurt lay in Halystaru's heart for her to wait for Truth to finish its first two jobs, she could not see her home being desecrated like this any longer. She stepped out of the pathway and into the main plaza, but she found the grounds practically unhurt. Actually, the entire entrance seemed undamaged, the doors were open when she had entered the ground of Sandoria, but both the gate and the entrance seemed untouched.  
  
Dazed and perked by this sight, Halystaru swung her head around the rest of the town and took it all in at once. Fire ravaged the walls and towers, but aside from that, Sandoria remained relatively unharmed. A building here and there had been pulverized, and the sky was dark as night with a false top of choking dust, but Sandoria still remained a city glowing in the darkness, devoid of people or movement. It still ravaged Halystaru, but what kind of person expected to change the world with a simple wand and cloak? The white mage did not actually fully intend to initiate any kind of conflict with Fxeni should she find him, though she was pressed upon to do so by the feelings inside her. Memories rushed to her; even from here she looked at the abandoned buildings and tents around the square. Here, she had played hide and seek as a young girl, it was here that she had spent so very much of her life, and yet now, played right in front of her, it was nothing but a shell sickened with festering heat and rubble.  
  
Red light filled Halystaru's eyes, but the fires did seem to quiet as the small Taru walked farther into the plaza, her small boots padding softly on the cobblestones, and the metal braces around them clanking softly. None of her memories mattered now, even if she did want a chance at redemption for the city, it would do Sandoria little good for her to die without a purpose. Instead, she searched the area for anyone that could use her help. No bodies appeared in sight; Halystaru had found many slain soldiers out in the Ronfaure wilderness, but no civilians lined the streets with their bodies, blood, or possessions.  
  
In an hour's time, Halystaru had patrolled the streets with wand in hand, searched in abandoned homes and buildings, which were still strewn with valuables, pictures, family heirlooms, and clothing, but had found nothing. Sandoria had obviously had little warning before the attack. As the Taru continued on, she was always ready for Fxeni around a corner, or a survivor begging for healing. But neither came.  
  
Anticipating the worst to come and finally succeeding to better judgment, Halystaru put her wand away and headed for the gate. Adrenaline kept her from succeeding to despair or revenge, but Halystaru knew that it was foolish that she had come without Truth, but...she needed to know what exactly had happened here and who was left. Whatever answers she had gotten from this ghost town had only led to more confusions and questions, and the White Mage had decided that very little could be done know to save anyone or anything that had occurred a few hours before.  
  
It all began as she approached the gate; a crash erupted from the northern part of town. She stopped and debated if it was a danger worth pursuing in idea of survivors or a danger she should flee, but it was quickly decided for her. Fxeni seemingly appeared out of nowhere, and slowly floated through the air towards the White Mage. Instincts finally taking over, Halystaru turned and fled for the front gate, but was stopped when a blast of magic struck her only exit and turned it into rubble, leaving her trapped with the bane of Sandoria. Half sighing at the gate, and half cursing herself for being so stupid, Halystaru slowly turned around to face Fxeni, who was giving her an emotionless look. He cocked his head, like a dog studying its master's actions, but Halystaru knew that he was only curious, not stupid.  
  
She concentrated and did her best to unnoticeably put up protective barriers of white magic around herself. If Fxeni did take note of this, he did not express it openly. He continued to stare with the curious look on his face; Halystaru replied with a deathly serious look. The silence started to get to her, so for good measure, she semi-yelled at Fxeni, intent on getting into contact with her old friend.  
  
"Tell me where the civilians are. Where are the people of Sandoria?" No response. Halystaru tried again.  
  
"How did destroying Sandoria accomplish anything you are seeking? What are your intentions here?" No response, but Fxeni dropped the curious look.  
  
Eventually, Halystaru gave up the questioning, and went directly to confrontation. "Fear will not move me to flee from you...Fxeni, or Evil, or whatever you call yourself. Four of your kind are as good as dead. You are the soul survivor." Bad choice of words; Fxeni's face scrounged into an angry frown, which made the White Mage uneasy.  
  
_"Looks deceive you; what makes you think Celos and Fupac won?"_  
  
In natural response, Halystaru was shocked. She had not heard the Pale warriors talk before, and none of the others had mentioned them speaking. When she had yelled at Fxeni a moment ago, she did not expect an answer in her own tongue, she expected a death threat in physical means or such. This only made her feel more uncomfortable. She swallowed.  
  
"Gah...You talk?" Her voice was shaky; she coughed loudly as if to clear her throat.  
  
_"Heh. I see little use in conversing with your kind. It beats boredom, however, and I would love to relish our victory to you."_ Halystaru noticed that Fxeni did not talk with his mouth, obviously he was telepathic. Or perhaps he just didn't want to speak with his mouth.  
  
"The victory over Sandoria?"  
  
Fxeni sneered. "_You call the Elvaans a victory? They were mere entertainment. Beating you five and restoring perfection was the victory."_  
  
Halystaru lowered her eyes and quizzically frowned. "What? You don't have Kidria OR Celos."  
  
_"Wrong."  
_  
The voice was quiet in Halystaru's head. Had they found Kidria or beaten Celos? Perhaps both? Or perhaps Evil was merely doing what it does best, scaring her. Regardless, that didn't change the goal of what the White Mage was here to do.  
  
"Ironic, isn't it? A Mage of healing versus one of explosive power?"  
  
No response. Halystaru bit her lower lip, and continued.  
  
"Despite your seemingly unfazed attitude, Evil, you have been beaten hundreds of times over the centuries, it's just that every time you refused to give up and die; instead you take the victor? That sounds like one hell of a sore loser."  
  
Fxeni made a slight motion, and a small wisp of air blew next to Halystaru's ear. A black, shining scythe flew towards Fxeni, spinning in air like a deadly boomerang as it did so. Fxeni caught it by the hilt and held it in his right hand, easily visible to Halystaru. It was larger than Fxeni was, and, much like his armor, it was black in color, covered in etched runes, and gleaming. It was curved in a manner that could only be described as evil, and in it was mirrored the flames of the wreckage burning around it.  
  
_"Losing is so cliché."_  
  
The air erupted in an explosion of heat. It rippled like water disturbed by a stone throw, and then escalated until Halystaru was pushed backwards by the force. She put her arm over her eyes and pressed forward, but the blasting wind finally picked her up and heaved her like a paper doll across the town.  
  
Halystaru turned in midair, and with her cloak ripping around her from the wind, cast a small rune of protection around her. She watched as a building rushed to meet her, until she hit with a large smack on a brick wall. There was a large crack, and a wave of rushing pain spread through her veins. She fell to the ground on her feet, but felt woozy, and cleared her mind anew before she noticed Fxeni once more floating across the plaza grounds towards her.  
  
The tiny White Mage did not hesitate this time, and responded with a spell of Holy, intent on piercing the Black Mage with a searing, white light. Fxeni was lost in the light, and a cloud of smoke expanded around him. The ball of smoke continued to move and soon gave way to the floating Black Mage, who didn't seem harmed in the least. The Pale Taru hovered on, and made a light gesture, whereupon Halystaru was lifted into the air, helplessly dangling her legs and arms in resistance.  
  
Invisible binds soon held Halystaru's feet, legs, arms, hands, and neck in a chokehold, and forced her to watch as Fxeni drifted right towards her and directly into her face. He smelled odd, like a wilted rose or an old, wasted piece of food, but Halystaru was far too strangled by the air to cough or choke on the stench. Fxeni lifted his scythe for Halystaru to see, and then gently stroked her cheek with the edge of the blade. Halystaru had no chance to neither respond nor move, and was quickly flung higher into the air.  
  
The binds held her in place as she was lifted high into the atmosphere, until she could see the entirety of Sandoria very well. The cold air gently moved about Halystaru and chilled her as she watched Sandoria burn in some places and crumple in others. Although she could not see him, the floating White Mage soon heard Fxeni's voice.  
  
_"I have always despised the Elvaans. They were pompous, high-class, braggarts. A few of them are worthy of adoration, but the remnants of their proud race are nothing but badly overpraised morons. Only those who have no challenges to their power, such as I, deserve such an act. So, I put the Elvaans in their place. Meanwhile, Windurst remains quiet and cowardly. They hide behind their walls and do not act, wary of what we are and what we have. Cowardice may not be a trait people respect, but it has kept them alive. They only await our arrival. Bastok, meanwhile, remains quiet, serene. It does not make its actions very obvious, but from what I can tell, they have sent you and your company. This proves their stupidity, hoping five of you could beat five of us."_  
  
Halystaru was turned by the invisible binds toward Ronfaure forest, due south of Sandoria. The fire from the city lit the forest perfectly, and to the White Mage's horror, she had a perfect view of hundreds, even thousands, of dead warriors slain; their blood soaking the fields.  
  
_"Five thousand of the Sandorian army could not beat me. Why would five of you?"_ Halystaru did not respond, but Fxeni apparently did not need her to. His voice grew sarcastic as he continued. _"Ah...of course, you have Truth. But what would happen if Truth was dead? None of you, not even the first, would have fought us long. Furthermore, I am imperfect. That has been attended to."  
_  
Halystaru felt the invisible ropes that held her in the air, and fell to the ground. She stopped herself with a bracing spell from her White magic, but still hit the ground rather hard and clumsily. She stood up and brushed off herself, to find Fxeni still hovering in sight.  
  
_"We have the girl."_  
  
Halystaru finally lost it to Fxeni's taunts, bragging, and incessant talking. She screamed at him.  
  
"What have you done to Kidria?!" Fxeni didn't answer. "Why are you so intent on killing her, when you could so easily of taken her like the others?!"  
  
Fxeni shook his head. _"Enough talk. I have said too much already."_  
  
He lifted his hand and a small ball of fire rolled into his hand. It expanded, and turned from a yellow color to red and then blue. It grew until it was larger then Fxeni, and Halystaru covered herself with a spell against demonic magic. It was more of a natural act than one of actual dependence, chances are that if the fire hit her, there would be little left of the White Mage, even with the protection of the protection.  
  
The world was suddenly filled with an inhumane light, lit by a bluish, glowing fire. It raged and rushed towards Halystaru, like a train charging down the tracks. As it moved, it grew in size until it was a flowing column of molten air, intent on turning the White Mage into charcoal.  
  
Hoping to divert the spell or at least meet it with a spell of equal strength and counter it, Halystaru spread her legs into a stance and prepared her own banishing spell. A small, fuzzy ball of iridescent light spread and warmed Halystaru's palms, which she focused into a firm, solid sphere of twisting, struggling, rays. She crushed her fist, the energy spread into her body, and she blasted the air with the energy directly in front of the train of fire.  
  
It simply dissolved into the blaze, like a train hitting a fly. It increased in speed and shrieked at Halystaru, who was unable to do anything but shield and brace herself, then take the hit.  
  
The fire hit the tiny White Mage like a flying wall of bricks. Incredible heat seared her senses and filled her eyes and nostrils with ash, but the holy barrier shielded her from the full effect of the fire. The blaze spread around her, flowing across the magical, protecting shield like liquid on a round surface, stressing the sphere around Halystaru until it turned white hot, and started to break through. Sweat dripped from her forehead, half from the heat and half from the effort to keep the protection up, and the quarter moment while the fire hounded her seemed like a short second. Call it luck or fate, but the White Mages strength ran out right as the fire finished passing around her. She dropped to her hands and knees, gasping the heated air, seeking repress from the overbearing warmth and force. She was still panting when she noticed a pair of black shoes in front of her.  
  
_"One spell. That was all it took. I didn't even try. And you had to nearly kill yourself, to stay alive and die a moment later? Good plan."_  
  
There was a crash and the voice was stopped, and Halystaru looked up to see that Truth had come out of nowhere, seemingly from the sky, and landed right on top of Fxeni. The Taru was stunned, not hurt, but obviously angry. Before he could respond, the White Mage heaved herself to her feet, picked up the mirror, and, still panting, shone it into Fxeni's face.  
  
Hoping to destroy the mirror before it could finish, Fxeni shot a small blast of pure, flowing purple magic at its face, but it bounced right back at him and smacked him in the stomach. He flew backwards flipping head over heels, out of sight behind a small shed, leaving Halystaru a quick laugh.  
  
In response, the mirror continued to shine. After a moment of odd blasts of lights and colors, the mirror cooled to the White Mages finger tips, she dropped her hands and stared at yet another Taru, this one with gleaming blonde hair and a very confused look. He composed himself and smoothed his hair, then turned to face the White Mage staring at him behind. He gave her an equally confused look.  
  
_"Whoa. You're hot."_  
  
Of all the warnings, interesting comments, greetings, and strange sayings she could've expected from an Echo, that was NOT one of them. Halystaru slapped Xenif.  
  
Xenif rubbed his cheek. _"Is that how chicks come on to guys nowadays? I suppose a lot can change in 500 years."_ Halystaru recoiled for another slap, but Xenif backed away and held out his arms innocently.  
  
_"Kidding! Kidding! Even a dead guy has his...priorities. It is good to meet you Halystaru."_ The Echo bowed. _"Perhaps I can be of assistance?"_  
  
Halystaru nodded. "Fxeni is ravaging Sandoria. The soldiers gave their lives to fight him, and now all remain dead, and the civilians...well, they're gone. I can't find a single one."  
  
_"You won't. At least, not yet."_  
  
"How's that?" the White Mage cocked her head questioningly.  
  
_"Fxeni has the power of insanity. He hasn't actually attempted it on you; White Mages are particularly resistant to its effects. However, no such hindrance held him back from the civilians."_ The Echo shrugged. _"Insanity is a very powerful tool. It can corrupt the mind into misinterpreting evil from good; it removes the limitations of common sense, and destroys memories, beliefs, and previous references. You won't be so eager to find the civilians when they come to find you."_  
  
The White Mage nodded slowly, not entirely sure of what Xenif meant. Regardless, she readied herself as the rubble of the shed across the way was blasted into the stratosphere, revealing a very pissed looking Fxeni. He gave off a shining purple color, radiating a menacing radiance that Halystaru did not think was meant to show friendship.  
  
It happened so quickly. Fxeni soared, spinning, into the air, and shot a dozen or so yellow balls aimed in the direction of Halystaru and Xenif. They screamed like banshees as the golden spheres shot towards the two fighters, until they came to a dead stop in mid-air, surrounding the two of them. Without any hesitation, the balls exploded in an eruption of fire, which spread like mini-nuclear explosions across the air. Xenif quickly reacted and hummed as he gestured, which summoned a bluish liquid to seep from between the cracks in the pavement, and spread across the entire body of Halystaru and said mage. After the strangely chilly, blue, blobbish material covered the two of them, it exploded outwards into a cage of frozen, blue ice, trapping the Echo and the White Mage in a small glacier. The fire immediately struck the ice, blasting it and hounding it with its heat, but the cold shield held against the strikes. Eventually the golden balls evaporated into nothing, whereupon the ice casing dissolved as well, leaving nothing but a wet puddle. Halystaru remained shocked; the entire scene had started and finished in the period of maybe ten seconds.  
  
Fxeni was not finished. More stubborn than ever, he sent his scythe reeling towards the ground, until it struck with a ringing, metallic, 'Twang' into the ground, blade first. The earth began to shake and reel with the blow, until it split into pieces, throwing Halystaru to the ground. Xenif struggled to not topple over with Halystaru, and upon snapping his fingers, simple floated an inch or two off the ground, ignorant of its fits and cries. With another snap from the other hand, Halystaru floated aloft as well, and while the earth continued to cry and whine until it festered and melted into a pool of melted lava which arose from the deepest bowels of the earth. It soon cooled in the summer night's air, whereupon the two rebels fell back to solid ground, unhurt and none the worse. Xenif, seemingly bored, turned into the night sky and screamed at the offending Black Mage who was intent on killing them both.  
  
_"I don't recall being this stupid with my powers when I was one of your kind, Evil. You know just how easy it is to counter Black Magic with the right spell."_  
  
Even from the ground, Halystaru easily heard Fxeni's growl from midair: _"You ignorant bastard. I would love to see you counter this Black Magic with one of your spells."_ His fist shook with rage as he continued. _"You sought the civilians so heavily, Halystaru. Did you expect to find this?"_  
  
It grew quiet, and the three of them remained silent. Halystaru listened, hoping to hear over the fire in the background and her own breathing. Despite her attempts to search the area with her eyes to find anything, she neither found nor heard anything. Then, from the northern gates, came a moan.  
  
At first, it was a single, quiet, crying voice. It did not actually speak words, simply cried out in a low voice. It spread to five or six voices, then erupted to fifty or so, and finally ended in a few thousand voices crying out as a single mind, screaming for some sort of restitution. Half in caution, half in fear of what she might see, Halystaru turned towards the northern gates. Peering back at her, thousands of eyes, all hungry and desolate, were staring at her. The civilians of Sandoria, children, young men and woman, thousands of Elvaans had all grouped at the northern gate and now walked towards the White Mage and Echo. They did not appear hurt, but many of them were equipped with weapons or clubs, and instead of walking with the normal, proud Elvaan strut, they dragged their feet lazily as they shifted toward Halystaru.  
  
Halystaru gasped. "Like zombies..."  
  
Xenif shook his head._ "No. They are not dead, but they are not sane. Fxeni, in a way, commands them, and they now see us as the bad guy. Normally we could fight them very easily, but we cannot kill innocents. They see no reason to keep them from doing the same to us."  
_  
Fxeni crossed his arms in a proud, vain gesture. _"The 'Proud' Elvaans are nothing but boggling idiots who now seek to kill their only allies. You two. Interesting that I would have no problem killing them all, yet, your conscience doesn't allow that, does it?"_ He laughed. _"I'll even give you a head start. Run."_  
  
Xenif grabbed Halystaru's hand and dragged her along the streets, away from the lost minds and Evil, where the two of them ducked into a one of the small watchtowers untouched by the flames of the city. Halystaru shut the door quietly out of self-habit, then prodded over and up the tower to the top. There, Xenif padded his foot impatiently as he closed his eyes and thought. Halystaru remained silent and watched him think, but thought about Celos and Fupac and the others, wondering if they were alright. From time to time a light moan emanated from the window near the tower entrance, but no Elvaan set foot in the tower. It was a long, dark, bleak half hour until Xenif spoke.  
  
_"Judgment. Do you still have enough energy to perform a Benediction, Halystaru?"_ She nodded. _"Benediction has cleansing as well as healing powers. It can remove the taint from the mind, as long as it is given the chance to do so..."_ His voiced trailed off, but it required no explanation.  
  
At the moment, voices started to grow outside of the window of the tower, and the door in the entrance began to shake. It trembled and was finally beaten into splinters by several hundred fists, until an army of Elvaan entered the room. Xenif reacted quickly, shoved Truth into Halystaru's hands, and then jumped into the mass of attackers, intent on keeping them from the mirror and the White Mage.

* * *

Bleeding, bruised, and cut in several places, Xenif was held in front of Fxeni like a sacrifice. The floating Taru was pleased, and seemed even happier to see that Halystaru, too, was held before him, although she was unhurt.  
  
_"Bastard..."_ Xenif mumbled. Fxeni took little to no notice, but instead spoke to Halystaru.  
  
_"Looks like I didn't even need to kill you myself. Not only did the not-so- proud Elvaans bring you to me, but they'll be the ones tearing you limb from limb as well."_ Xenif gave a small twitch in the arms of the two Elvaans holding him, but did not speak. Fxeni did not make any gesture to suggest an action that would condemn Xenif to death, but eventually the Pale Taru stroked his chin stared at Xenif, then shook his head.  
  
_"I have a better idea. Let him down."_ The Elvaans let the Echo fall from their hands to the ground, where he crumpled in a heap. Fxeni waited until Xenif looked back up at him, and then pointed at Halystaru. _"Kill her."_  
  
Xenif looked slightly surprised. _"Wha...?"_  
  
The floating Black Mage's voice grew more focused and serene. _"It's pretty simple, either kill her or I kill you."_  
  
Xenif shook his head. _"I refuse."_  
  
Fxeni laughed._ "I have an army of Elvaans at my disposal. What makes you think your life is more worth than theirs? In other words, for every resistance you make, I will kill one more civilian." _He waved his arms at the entire plaza filled with the civilians.  
  
Xenif spit on the ground in front of him. _"You son of--"_ He stopped when he saw Fxeni raise a hand towards a nearby, blonde, Elvaan child, fingers glowing menacingly. Feeling defeated and angry, he turned to Halystaru and frowned. The White Mage briefly recognized a wink, but it was gone before she could reconcile it. Before she could understand the meaning of the gesture, the Echo had sent a small blast of pure magic aimed right for the small White Mage Taru with the mirror.  
  
She reacted quickly and without thinking. The realization of the hints Xenif had given her hit home, and she lifted Truth from beside her and stuck it out in front like a shield, angling it for recoil into the air. When the sphere of magic reached her, the mirror took the blow and shot the magic back at an angle like a rubber ball, aimed directly at the Pale Warrior floating in the sky. Unaware and feeling far too cocky to expect foul play, the small Taru clad in black armor and wielding a black scythe was hit full force with the blast, sending him rolling all over himself. Haly jumped forward into the midst of the Elvaans and concentrated while Xenif prepared some ancient spell, and at the same instant that Xenif hit Fxeni with a spell of Flare, Halystaru called to the heavens for benediction.  
  
Even from miles away, one could easily see the force of the two incantations. The sky was lit with a lovely, warm, white shine which healed Xenif and Halystaru to perfect health and brought the Elvaans back to sanity, releasing them from a false reality they didn't even know they were experiencing. Meanwhile, still stunned by the force of the magic and the sudden ambush, Fxeni had no time to react to Xenif's flare, which caused the sky to explode in a display of fireworks, which seared Evil to the core. Drained of all energy and strength, the Echo fell to the ground on his hands on knees, heaving for air. Knowing it would take more than that to finish off Fxeni, Halystaru summoned all her heavenly might into a spell of banishment, and sent it directed at the Black Mage in the sky.  
  
The final holy spell finished the job. Fxeni howled in anger and frustration, and then started to shine a light yellow color. He lit up the night sky with his glow, until he became an artificial sun. Xenif, still heaving, turned his head to the clueless Elvaans milling around, and screamed at the top of his lungs for them all to run. Not one to argue with their city burning and magic exploding in the sky, the Elvaans quickly dispersed, and the plaza was soon empty save the Echo and Halystaru. In a final act before it lost control, the Evil controlling Fxeni gripped the scythe and heaved it at the ground, where it connected with Truth and sent the mirror shattering into a million pieces. With this final act completed, Fxeni fell from his perch in the air, and half of Sandoria was engulfed in a piercing light.  
  
In the distance, a small wyvern, perched on the branch of a tree, smiled.  
  
_"We win."_ It said

* * *

When Halystaru came to, she found herself looking at Fxeni, who was now unconscious and breathing heavily, and at the Echo, who now breathed harder then ever. He was fading, no longer solid, but when he spoke, his voice seemed more solid than ever before.  
  
_"500 years ago, I became estranged in a fight I didn't even know I was getting into. Evil took my body and forced me to kill over, and over, and over. I was a merciless puppet, my fingers following an invisible string. Despite the silence, the horrible anguish and the fact that I was unwilling victim playing murder, the greatest punishment of all was time."  
  
"While I remained immortal, totally immune to any mortal binds of old age and deterioration, my family grew old, my children became parents, then grandparents, and finally perished. Then their children grew old as well and soon died along with the others. That cycle continued, one generation after another, ashes to ashes, and dust to dust. Yet here I was, stuck right next to my good friends with the same exact thing happening to their families. Never again did we see anyone we knew, never again would we. Eventually, it got to me, and I soon realized the fact that I didn't care who I killed anymore. People would come and die to the five of us, and I did not care."  
  
"People die for a reason. It is to avoid this inevitable realization, which only comes from time. Can you imagine, Halystaru, watching from hundreds of miles away, your family wither into dust and leave people you have never even seen before? I SAW my child go to my supposed funeral. I SAW my son get married without me to wish him luck. And I SAW my son pass away in his sleep...of old age. I did not wish to live; I did not wish to be freed. I wanted to die, and yet when I did, I still wasn't allowed to rest. I was forced, along with the other four, to return to make penance for a crime we did not commit."  
  
"Now, after all five of us have been killed, and return even in death, we fought our hardest against Evil, which made us so very cold and bitter against life. And we still lost, yet we have 'redeemed' ourselves? Truth is gone, the girl is taken. I am supposed to rest with this upon my conscience?"  
  
"Nothing will ever change, Halystaru. After 500 years, all the things that life envisions, living, love, trust, friendship, all of the ideals wither into dust. But something remains...something which isn't described by human words. Something a million times more complicated then love, more powerful then friendship, and greater than anything people can be construed as ideal."  
  
"I...feel at peace. For the first time in 500 years, I am not angry, or sad, or bitter. Remember Halystaru, that even in the worst of times, even if Evil was to take this world and all would be lost, there is something beyond life, beyond death, beyond love, beyond truth, beyond good and evil, that will always be with us. Because even now, I hear them..."  
_  
Somewhere in the ruins of Jeuno, underneath a rock left from the rubbage of a wall, a small glow formed out of the darkness, and floated slowly into the sky.  
  
In the Crawler's Nest, a tiny light emanated in the darkness from a jeweled sword, which glittered in the cave, and rose towards the heavens through a small crack in the ceiling.  
  
Meanwhile, in a small cave in Valkrum Dunes, a piece of sand sparkled in the moonlight, which then melted into a sphere of rolling gold. It rolled out of the alcove, and jumped into the air happily, then drifted towards the beautiful stars above.  
  
Deep within the darkest reaches of Jugner Forest, beneath a tall oak, something glittered in the grass, lighting up a small clearing where an Elvaan lay breathing softly. The glitter swung upwards towards the top of the tree, and then continued upwards into the night.  
  
Meanwhile, a small, blonde Taru stood on the pavement in Sandoria in front of a White Mage. The Taru smiled, and sighed, then glowed golden and evaporated into a shimmering form. The form swirled in the air for a moment, and then soared upwards, as if seeking something. The White Mage stared at the form until it disappeared from her sight.  
  
Halystaru did not smile nor did she frown. Her focus had switched from the Echo's sudden departure to the black scythe impaling the ground a few feet away. It was twitching like a sick child; almost gleeful of its destruction of Truth, yet that wasn't what held the White Mage's eye. Halystaru slowly walked toward the scythe, staring at the runes on its curving form, which were now glowing yellow. As the Taru got close, she realized the runes were actually words written in an odd text; a riddle that ran the length of the entire weapon. Halystaru cocked her head aside at an angle, and read the words aloud to no one in particular.

* * *

_"When dark recalls all it has to offer, _

_renewing the object it once held,_

___The greatest power shall be found__ in the smallest possible voice,_

_______The six shall stand against the five when one is felled,_

_______But victory means death and losing means destruction; _

_______all decided by the sister's choice."_

* * *

Celos eyes shot open and she hopped to her feet. Her new armor was tight, and heavy, but very fitting. She looked up at the trees in the darkness and smiled, then walked over and picked up the dark, black, blades next to Marzinquan. She put them gently back into Marzinquan's hands, and then headed for the exit of the forest, intent on reaching Valkrum dunes. Behind her, the night grew even darker as the swords emanated a dark glow that swallowed Marzinquan, leaving Celos giggling. Near the exit of the forest, she walked by a small puddle of water left by the rain, where she saw a reflection of a Pale Elvaan clad in black armor walking by with a bright, but fading flicker in her eyes.

* * *

_**End**_

_**Book One**_


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